Fate
by kissbangx3
Summary: When a cruise liner crashes on the island, the flight 815 survivors find new hope. But along with the hope come shocking realizations about fate. They learn answers, but they also recieve devastations. CharlieOC, Skate, ?ClaireOC? May be a S2 spoiler.
1. Beginning

I've done a few stories before, but this is mainly my first one, and definitely my first _Lost _fanfic. So I hope everyone likes it, and here are my only requests concerning reviewing: constructive criticism is fine, but please don't be mean. I'm really sensitive (I hate it, but I am), so I'll probably get really worked up if I see a review that's actually _mean. _Anyway, if you want to know anything else about me, feel free to read my profile. And here we go with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Lost. _But I wish I owned Charlie. And Driveshaft.

Chapter One: Beginning

**The Beach**

Charlie Pace scowled at the sand. He wasn't mad at _it_, of course; that would be pointless. Then again, his anger with the world was probably also pointless, since no one seemed to care.

What he hated was that no one _knew _him on the island. They knew he was a has-been rocker, but his music meant so much more to him than MTV ratings. They thought he was just a stuck-up junkie, but ever since his first time quitting, he hadn't started again, not once. And he wasn't stuck up. He was one of the most deep, committed, dedicated people on the island. His relationship with Claire, his steadfast guitar practicing, and his meaningful past all proved those things. But he was stereotyped as the junkie of the island, and he felt like that title would haunt him forever.

Things with Claire were, as usual, fluctuating. He missed the old times, what he considered the golden years, when they were such good friends. He had known even then that she, as a single mother, would be hard to win over in trust, but he had persisted, because there had always been something about her. He still tried hard to win her trust, but he knew he had crossed that line long ago. She kept giving him more chances, and she kept listening to what he had to say, which was more than he could say for most girls. Still, she didn't trust him anymore, and there were times she could really hurt him.

Unlike most has-beens, Charlie didn't miss the fame and fortune. And unlike most of the flight 815 survivors, he preferred the island life. Anything, at this point, was better than his old life. His young years were regrettable. He'd had a fair family, with a mother who had big dreams for her young boy, but like most fathers, his had sheltered him. He hadn't lived a full childhood, always feeling like he had been kept in the dark. His teen years had had a few ups, but mostly he was the misunderstood "punk" kid with the hot older brother. He'd never gone to college; he and his brother made their new lives with Driveshaft. The club days had been regrettable, and he hated to think about them. The early record days were fun, but soon after, he had gotten into the drugs. And those were the worst days.

Despite his tiring relationship with Claire and his bad reputation on the island, Charlie liked it. It was a nice break from reality. He didn't need money or even food, and finally, he didn't need a fix. Sometimes he felt like he did, but he knew he didn't.

Charlie was a good person, and he wasn't even an unhappy person, for the most part. In reality, his life was one simple word: "misunderstood."

**Sunlots Apartment Complex**

A knock sounded on the door, and Ellie groaned to hear it. She was in the middle of playing her guitar, and she didn't want to be disturbed. She was blowing all her waitressing money on the apartment she was renting. And the only reason she was renting the apartment was so that she could practice her guitar without being yelled at by DA's every five minutes. Dormitories on campus at Emory had strict policies against plugging an electric guitar into an amp and playing away. Not that that was what she did. Ellie played each note with detail, because music was the one language she could speak in. Others couldn't understand it, but it was the only language she could get her words out.

"Elle, could you get that?" shouted Allison from the shower. Allison was Ellie's older sister, the opposite of Ellie in every possible way, besides the fact that they had both gone to Emory University. No one understood why Ellie, the don't-give-a-care rebel from Atlanta, would go to any college, let alone a good one. Emory wasn't Ivy League, but it was respected in her city. She could get a handful of jobs from working there.

Then again, that was why Ellie did things. To spite others. Everyone had expected Ellie to give up after high school and start stealing to live, but instead she went to Emory and got a waitressing job. Everyone had expected Ellie to cut her sister off completely even though Allison was funding her Emory education, so Ellie split an apartment's rent with her.

"Okay," Ellie groaned, setting her guitar lightly aside. She hoped it wasn't anyone she knew, because in her opinion, she looked terrible. Her long, thin, straight red hair had been piled on top of her head with a few clips she had found lying around, and she was wearing a baggy NIRVANA T-shirt and sweatpants.

She sighed when she opened the door. It figured. It was her boyfriend, Jake.

Jake raised his eyebrows when he saw her. "You look terrible."

_Thanks,_ she thought sarcastically. She had no idea why she had gone out with him for so long. They had known each other since high school, and pretty much had been a Hands-Off couple since their senior year of it. Now they were almost graduating from four years at Emory, and still together. When anyone asked Ellie why she was with him, she couldn't answer. She supposed it was just, as usual, to spite people.

"What is it?" she asked in a bored voice. She had stopped flirting with him a long time ago. Jake went out with Ellie for her looks, and Ellie went out with Jake for some completely unknown reason she couldn't figure out. He was gorgeous, of course, but she really didn't care.

"I don't know," Jake said with a shrug. "Those weirdos from our medicine class said they had something really important they had to tell us. They want to meet us at Josh's."

Ellie rolled her emerald eyes. Josh's was the place she waitressed at on the weekends. She hated going there, especially for leisure. "Why? Can't we just blow them off?"

There was another of Ellie's weird traits. She was a perfectly nice person, but she could be vicious for absolutely no reason.

"I wanted to, but they said it was something good." He shrugged. "Whatever. I'll go, but I have football practice in two hours. We have to be back by then."

Ellie shrugged. "Works for me. I was in the middle of writing a song."

He rolled his eyes. Jake was what you could call unappreciative of Ellie's work. "Don't even get me started," he muttered. "Let's go."

Ellie knew that Jake found her weird and abnormal. But she took comfort in the fact that she was simply misunderstood.

**The Hatch**

"Hey, Freckles," said Sawyer in his dripping Southern accent. He bounded up to Kate with a broad smile on his face, dimples going wide.

Kate let a small grin show. "Hey, Sawyer," she replied lightly. "What's up?"

"Doc over here says I should confess to the priest," Sawyer explained, smile not wavering. He obviously found pleasure in making Jack sound as stupid as possible.

Kate sighed. Why was she always attracted to the bad boys? "What'd you do this time?" she asked him with a _tsk, tsk _clicking of her tongue.

"I didn't do anything!" he said with a shrug. "I mean, I bossed the has-been around a little bit, but really, so what? He's practically a stalker to that poor single mother."

"God." Kate rolled her faded green eyes. She wished Sawyer would stop picking on people and Jack would stop treating Sawyer like a son. Then again, she had virtually no control whatsoever of these things. "Leave Charlie alone. The poor guy has enough stress."

"C'mon, Freckles," Sawyer said, sitting down on one of the hatch's nice seats. "You don't find his incessant nagging on Claire a _little _strange?"

"So he had a crush." Kate shrugged. "You've never had a crush before?"

Sawyer looked up at her behind his blue eyes in an _Isn't-it-obvious? _way, and she felt a small rush. But before she could reply, Jack came in, as it seemed was his custom.

"Hey," Jack greeted casually, grabbing a towel from one of the closets. "Anyone care if I take a shower?"

Kate still found it strange that they could take showers on the island, but she figured it wasn't that important, in the scheme of things. Instead she said, "Jack, did you tell Sawyer he should confess to a priest?"

Jack nodded. "If he believes in that kind of thing, yes," he said easily. "Ecko would listen to him, and Charlie's building that church."

"Do you _really _think," Sawyer snorted, "that I'm some kind of devout Christian? Doc, I hate to break it to you, but if I was, I'd be on my way to Hell about now." He snorted. "I done enough bad things in my life to ensure that."

There it was again. Kate always sensed it in him. Sawyer's voice shone with pride, but beyond that was shame, the thing she always felt about her past.

"Whatever," Jack said with a shrug. "It was just an idea."

Sawyer and Jack continued arguing for a while, until finally Kate demanded, "Are you going to take that shower or not, Jack?"

Jack glared at Sawyer and left to take his shower. Sawyer grinned at Kate.

"I always win," he chuckled.

Kate groaned. "Sawyer…" she started, but she knew it was pointless.

**Josh's Pizza Restaurant**

"This better be good," Ellie said to the two seniors waiting for them at the table. People all around her and Jake were staring at them, but she hardly noticed. She was used to it. They were both surprisingly beautiful people that were completely different, yet you still couldn't find where one of them ended and the other began, they were holding each other so close. Ellie knew Jake didn't care about her, but she liked to think he held her close because he loved her and wanted her at his side.

Whatever the reason, they attracted many eyes, and even the other seniors weren't quite used to them. Jake was wearing a brown-and-yellow-striped polo with a nice pair of jeans, and his straight brown hair was brushed. He was clean-cut and preppie, the opposite of Ellie. Her long red hair was left tangled but elegantly down to her waist in lifeless but stunning straight strands, and her emerald eyes were surrounded by dark eyeliner that cut off her expressions from the rest of the world. Her thin legs were covered with battered-up jeans, her feet with beat-up skater shoes, and her upper body with another baggy shirt, this one reading DRIVESHAFT in bold letters. They looked completely different, and yet perfect for each other.

"It is," Jenny finally said. Jenny was the girl of the two seniors, a very smart physics major who was going out with boy, Andrew. Andrew smiled, and even though Ellie thought it was cute, she just scowled and sat down.

A waitress rushed over to them. "Hey, Elle!" she greeted excitedly. "I can't believe you came when it wasn't a weekend."

Ellie laughed. "Hey, Jess. I don't know why. They just told me to." Jessica was one of her fellow waitresses at the restaurant.

Jess shrugged and turned to Jake. Ellie didn't blame her—_everyone _liked Jake. Jess smiled to him and said, "Hey, I'm Jessica."

"Hell-o," Jake said in a flirty voice. Ellie should've cared, but as usual, she didn't. She just rolled her eyes and scanned the menu even though she knew it by heart.

"So what can I get you guys to drink?" Jess asked energetically, obviously boosted from Jake, college football quarterback Jake, saying hi to her.

"Coke," Ellie said in a bored voice.

"Coke," Jake agreed in a voice just as monotonous.

"Same," Jenny and Andrew agreed. Jess smiled and left.

"So what is it?" Ellie asked. "This is stupid. Just tell us."

"Okay," Jenny said, taking a deep breath. "Remember that project we did a few weeks ago on the bird flu? And how that medicine we made had negative results?"

Jake squinted in confusion. "Dude. Negative? I thought that was bad."

Andrew shook his head. "No. The bird started out with a mild college version of the bird flu, and after our medicine, the disease came out negative. We cured it."

"Right," Ellie said, "but that was just one bird." She found it very hard to believe that she had found the cure for a worldwide panic-causing disease.

"We retried it on at least ten others," Jenny explained. "All turned out negative."

"But," Jake said, "you said yourself it was just a mild version of the real bird flu." He, like Ellie, seemed eager to find a way to rebut the truth.

"Yeah, so we sent it to the government or something, and they made the medicine less mild. And it worked." Andrew took a deep breath, just as Jenny had, as their drinks arrived. "You guys, we found a cure for bird flu!"

"Dude," Jess said, almost dropping their Cokes. "Elle? _You_? You hardly even got into Emory."

Ellie laughed. "I know. But I didn't really do the work."

"Neither did the rest of the class," Andrew told her, "but the entire class is winning some multi-thousand-dollar award and a free plane ride to Fiji. And then a cruise from there."

Ellie couldn't believe it. "But…_why_?" she demanded. "You two were the only ones who did any work. Sure, Jake and I were there, but we didn't do anything! And there were a few others in our group, but the people in the class weren't even doing the same _project _as us!"

Jenny shrugged. "The people at the award company said they wanted to encourage hard working at Emory."

Andrew nodded. "They also said that the Ivy League people were thinking about letting Emory in. Grades and standards are high enough, and they just came out with the cure for bird flu."

"Dude!" Jake said excitedly. "Emory's going Ivy League? That's awesome! Professional football programs love that kinda stuff!"

Ellie didn't look so excited. "Won't tuition go up?"

"Not for us," Andrew replied. "We're the graduating class, and they love us, anyway. No, this whole mess is free, cruise and Ivy League and all."

**The Beach**

"Have you ever been thankful the plane crashed?" asked Charlie quietly.

Claire's head spun around. Charlie knew he probably shouldn't be there, but he missed her, and he missed Aaron. Aaron was like the hope of the island. He was the one young, sweet face that made everyone else keep going.

At first Claire just gave him a dirty look and didn't answer, because she didn't want him there. No matter what her personal feelings were for him, she wanted to take care of Aaron, and if they was any chance Charlie was using, she wanted him away from her son.

But Charlie's bright blue eyes forced themselves into hers, and she felt her lips moving before her brain could stop them.

"Yeah, sometimes," she said in her thick Australian accent. "If not for the crash, I wouldn't be raising Aaron. He'd be in someone else's home."

He decided now wasn't the best time for show-and-tell. He didn't want to tell Claire that if not for the crash, he'd be back in LA or possibly Great Britain, snorting whatever heroin he could find lying around, and trying desperately to find cash.

"I know how you feel," he said instead.

"You mean you'd be on drugs?" she asked stiffly.

Charlie stiffened. They'd had a pretty normal conversation. Why did Claire always have to turn their relationship into a fight? He liked her a lot, and he couldn't even explain why, but it felt like all she was ever trying to do was look for something wrong with him. It was exhausting.

"Yeah," Charlie mumbled. "Probably would."

Claire's eyes looked apologetic, but she didn't say anything else. After giving Aaron a final glance, Charlie left. He didn't have anything else to say.

**A Highway in Atlanta**

"This is so sweet," Jake said.

Ellie didn't say anything. She was sitting in his Maserati Spyder's passenger seat, letting the wind blow on her and trying to tell herself she didn't give a care in the world. But all she could think about was how she didn't want to go on this stupid cruise. Life had to just take and take from her. It took her parents, and it had taken all her happiness. She figured the cruise was its way of giving back, but she didn't want to give it the pleasure.

"Elle," Jake said loudly. "You hear me?"

She nodded, still not saying anything, her bright green eyes focused on the advertisements zipping by. Why couldn't people just leave the sky the way it was? It was this beautiful mess of clouds, and all these street signs were ruining it.

They reached a stoplight, and he turned to face her. His dark, uncomfortable eyes were scanning her, wondering what was going on. Jake had never understood his girl. "What's wrong?"

Ellie sighed, knowing that her moment to soak up the sun was over, and turned to him. "Nothing," she said with a shrug. "Except this music," she added with distaste, referring to the rap music blasting through Jake's car's expensive speakers.

"No taste," Jake said, shaking his head.

She was in a bad mood, and she hated where her life was at right now, but Ellie wasn't a normal person. So instead of arguing with him and defending the music she loved, she said with a shrug, "That's me." Because she didn't feel like putting up a fight about it. He didn't appreciate the things she loved. He didn't even love her. But because of the person she was, she didn't let it faze her. Instead she let the wind blow back her hair and she tried to enjoy herself, despite the circumstances and the company.

**The Hatch**

"Jack?" Charlie asked hopefully. "Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," the doctor replied, hastily getting up. "What is it, Charlie?"

"I was wondering if you could talk to Locke for me," Charlie said hopefully. Jack scowled at him, but Charlie ignored it. "It's just that I'm still not sure he believes that I'm clean. I mean, he _saw _me throw those Virgin Mary statues into the ocean, but he probably thinks I saved some. He's never going to trust me again. But you know I'm not using, right?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, Charlie, and it isn't my place to say."

"But the withdrawals!" Charlie reminded Jack. "I never got any, not when Locke took them in the first place. Remember? Not once. So obviously I never started after the first time I quit."

"Or," Jack said, "you _did _use, and Locke didn't get all of them."

Charlie groaned. He muttered British ravings under his breath, and looked back up at Jack. "Look, Jack, I'm not using. Okay? Honestly. I just wish people would treat me the way they used to. I'm just like anyone else."

Jack shook his head. "I believe you're not using, Charlie, but no one on this island is like anyone else. You're an ex-addict, Kate's an ex-convict, Sawyer's a con-man, I'm an ex-spinal-surgeon, and Claire's a single mom. Do any of those have anything in common?"

Charlie shook his head slowly. "No, but I'm not talking about jobs or situations. I'm talking about our bloody _hearts_," he said, trying to sound deep but coming off as good old Charlie.

"Charlie, everyone's different," Jack said with a shrug. "Maybe there's someone out there who understands you, but you especially are different. I don't really know how to say this, but Claire isn't used to the bold musician types. Neither is anyone else I've met. Maybe sometime you'll find someone who can understand you perfectly. But on the island you have to deal with people's assumptions."

**Sunlots Apartment Complex**

Ellie was sick of packing. She'd been packing for hours while listening to all of The Cure's greatest hits, and now she was sick of it. The Cure especially. With her complete and utter lack of romantic life and no one understanding her, they practically sang her feelings right out of her. And in such depressing songs, that wasn't a good thing.

She zipped her suitcase closed and looked around. She had a huge suitcase-full, plus (obviously) her guitar in its case, as well as her purse, messenger bag, and toiletries bag. She didn't have a lot of stuff, but with the plane ride, the cruise near Fiji, and the week-long hotel stay in Fiji after the cruise, she didn't want to leave room to forget.

A knock sounded on her door again, and this time Allison got it. Allison wasn't coming on the trip with her, because Ellie wasn't allowed to bring anyone older than her. The idea of the cruise was to encourage college work, not post-college work.

"Hey, Jake," Allison said coldly. Allison hated Jake. It drove Ellie crazy most of the time, but sometimes she was glad she wasn't alone.

"Hey," Jake greeted without any emotion. He thought Allison was hot, because being a good-bodied, red-haired Sanders girl like Ellie, Allison was good-looking. But Jake couldn't stand people who couldn't stand him. Ellie was just glad he didn't know how she felt about him.

"I can't believe you're leaving America for the first time," Allison said, just like a mother would. Being in her thirties and having raised Ellie her whole life, Allison pretty much _was _Ellie's mother.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Thank God," she said, shaking her head. "Bloody Americans." She was purely American herself, but nothing pleasured her more than to use British phrases to make fun of her native country. Ellie was, as Allison also said, a Brit at heart.

So Ellie opened the door to leave.

**Claire's Tent**

"Charlie's not using," Locke said, walking up to Claire in her tent.

Claire looked up in surprise at Locke. "Why do you say that?" she asked.

Locke shrugged. "I know this isn't proof, but he threw all the statues into the ocean. And besides that, I just overheard a conversation he had with Jack, and he sounds honest. I'm not too fond of him any more, but Claire, I can honestly say he's not using again."

Claire was surprised by this, but it didn't change much. "Listen, Locke," she said in her thick accent. "It's not just that. It's the continuous amount of times he's lied to me."

"That's who Charlie is," Locke said. "My instinct is to hunt as Charlie's is to protect. And to mankind, lying is one of the easiest ways to shield someone from his or her enemies."

"But he can't just lie and get away with it!" Claire said sharply.

"You and Charlie are two very different people who happen to be very attracted to one another," Locke told her. "But in the end, if you keep blowing up at him and he doesn't stop lying to you, it's going to end dangerously."

Claire shook her head. "Then it wasn't meant to be."

Locke shrugged. "It's not my place to agree or disagree with you, Claire. In fact, none of this was my place. But I wanted you to know he's not using."

**The Plane**

Ellie's medicine class had taken up about thirty seats on the plane, but most of them just looked uncomfortable. They were getting right off the plane and onto the cruise ship, and they didn't look too thrilled.

Ellie didn't really mind the ride. It was a nice view, and Jake was right next to her with his arm around her. Sure, he was checking out about fifty other girls, but that didn't matter. He was there, and that was, as usual, more than she could say for anyone else.

The plane landed smoothly, and they continued down the runway for a few minutes. Jake spent this time talking to Ellie, something that was rare for them.

"This is weird, isn't it?" he asked. "Kind of like the perfect way to start off our graduated lives, but also a really scary way?"

That was what she loved about Jake. He wasn't stupid; he could be intelligent and even deep when he tried. He just didn't apply himself much, and in return, he seemed to be dull.

"Yeah," Ellie replied with a nod. "Really scary. But the cruise should be really cool."

Everyone began unloading their things from the overhead bins, and Jake politely got Ellie's bags for her. She was touched.

"Thanks," she said, really meaning it.

"No problem," he said. A second later, a flight attendant walked up to them.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

Jake grinned at her. Ellie knew that grin. It was a flirtatious grin, the same kind he'd used with Ellie before they were together.

She sighed and put her headphones on. Music was the only thing that helped her deal. Without it, she would probably just explode.

**The Hatch**

"Jack!" Sayid and Hurley said, rushing into the main room of the hatch.

"What?" Jack asked in surprise. Locke was with him, and he looked just as anxious to see what was going on.

"We just picked up something with the transceiver thingy," Hurley explained excitedly. "We couldn't talk into it, but we heard a message."

"What is it?" Jack asked. His heart was racing, even though he doubted it was a real chance to get off the island.

"There's some kind of specialty college cruise going on off the coast of Fiji," Sayid explained, "and they said that, for the sake of their intelligent upperclassmen, they may stop at uncharted territory to try to map out some new islands!"

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**

Did you like it? I hope so. It took me long enough. Anyway, reviews make me happy, but if you don't have time or whatever, don't worry about it. Just review some day to tell me whether or not you liked it. I know some people don't like breaking up the Claire-and-Charlie thing, but I really don't think it was meant to be. And I know the OC's don't fit in that well, but they will, and they'll mesh with the 815 characters well, I swear. Look for an update soon!

-kissbangx3 aka CHARLIE-OBSESSED-MANIAC!


	2. Crash

Back again. Not much to say…so I'll get on with the updating.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. Quite obviously. If I owned it, this stuff would, of course, be happening on the show, not in my imagination/on this website.

Chapter Two: Different

**The Expedition Cruise Liner**

"What?" Ellie demanded the second she heard.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but is that not what you would like?" asked the beautiful ship's events coordinator politely.

Ellie shook her head faster than the speed of lightning, but Jenny sent her a begging glance. Ellie realized that Jenny would just _love _to sail through uncharted territory and map it out. Who cared if the next King Kong was there, or something?

Still, Ellie knew that Jenny had done all the work in the bird flu project, and she deserved to pick where they went. "Okay," Ellie sighed.

Jake grinned. "You're looking at this the wrong way, Elle," he told Ellie excitedly. "First we're the curers of the bird flu, and now we map out islands that, for all we know, could be the leading source of oil in the world? We'll probably win a freakin' Nobel Prize. Elle, we're gonna be rich!"

Ellie shook her head. "Knowing my luck, we're going to be marooned on an island where weird natives keep us hostage and we end up living their our whole lives."

She just didn't know how close to the truth that was.

**The Hatch**

Jack shot up out of his seat in an instant.

"You're sure?" he asked in disbelief. "They're going to stop on this island?"

"That I am not certain about," Sayid admitted, "but as long as we can make some kind of sign, they should see us."

"But Michael and the others already used our SOS firework," Jack reminded him. "And a ground signal like what Bernard tried to make wouldn't be very visible from a ship."

"We can yell," Hurley said frantically. "Wave our arms. I don't care."

"We could burn something," Sayid suggested, "but it would be dangerous."

"What could we burn?" Jack asked miserably. "All we have are the trees, and that'll cause a forest fire."

Sayid shrugged. "I suppose we'll just hope for the best."

Hurley sighed. "On _this _island, there is no best."

**The Expedition Cruise Liner**

The _Expedition _was actually very nice. There were chandeliers, fancy tables, nice decks, golf courses, pools, and each student had a top-floor suite to share with one other. Ellie and Jake were sharing one, and right now they were talking about the scientific expeditions.

"So the only people on this cruise are us and other scientists?" Ellie asked Jake in confusion. The only reason she'd been a _little _excited about the _Expedition _ride was that she'd get a chance to know what it felt like to be a normal person in a normal paradise. Now both of those had been taken away from her, and she felt herself longing for her apartment.

Jake nodded, trying to block out the screeching sounds of Ellie tuning her guitar. She could tune by ear, but her instrument had gotten really out of tune from being handled by completely annoying and irresponsible baggage handlers who hadn't let her take it with her on the plane. _Fascist, _she had thought to herself.

"Yeah. It's pretty much like nerds on water."

Ellie sighed. He was twenty-freaking-_two. _Wasn't he way too old to be saying things like that?

"C'mon, Jake," she groaned, trying to get her guitar's annoying G sharp to lower back down to a G. "It'll be fun." She was trying to assure herself of that when the emergency alarms began to ring. She glanced out the window to see that they were already approaching an island. Was that the only reason there were emergency lights and alarms on?

"This is just a drill, right?" Jake asked in an almost scared voice.

"ATTENTION, PASSENGERS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

Ellie snorted. "I think that answers your question."

"ALL PASSENGERS ARE TO EXIT ROOMS TO THE NEAREST LOCKDOWN AREA. WE ARE APPROACHING AN UNCHARTED ISLAND, AND THE BEACH'S SAFETY IS UNKNOWN. PLEASE STAY CALM, AND WE WILL REACH LAND SHORTLY. LOCKDOWN AREAS ARE ONLY TO ENSURE YOUR PROTECTION."

Ellie looked out the window again, and she could've sworn she saw people. But Jake yanked on her arm and dragged her out of the room.

"There were people," she told him. "On the island. But they said it was uncharted!"

**The Beach**

"Bloody hell" was all Charlie could say when he saw the _Expedition _crashing onto the shores of the beach. It wasn't even that large or spectacular, but the fact that a ship was landing—with _live _people, nonetheless—was unbelievable.

Behind him, Jack and the others were discussing the ship's not-so-graceful landing. Charlie had to admit they were right about that. It's power was fading from the forceful crash, and it was starting to tip from the propellers brushing against the sand, making the beach unleveled. The people on the deck were screaming, and Charlie knew that the chances of someone falling were very, very high.

"Okay," Jack shouted, "we need a limited amount of people to help them!" He ran as close to the ship as was safe and shouted up at them, "Can you send down a ladder?"

One of the frantic scientists ran over to the lifeboat area and found a drop-ladder. He dropped it down the side of the boat to Jack, who waved a hand in thanks and turned to the 815ers. "Listen," he shouted to them. "We can't have many people. John, Sayid, Gin, Kate, Sawyer, go ahead. Everyone else, stay back! Help people once we get down!"

The selected 815ers ran up to the ladder and began climbing. Charlie followed behind Sawyer and reached Jack.

"Jack, c'mon," Charlie said. "Please let me go. I need to help someone." He did. Ever since the island, Charlie had felt an unexplainable need to help whoever was at all helpless. That was probably at least part of what explained his near obsession with Claire—she had a baby, and she needed his help with him.

"Charlie, six of our people is more than enough. For all I know, the friction caused by the propellers could cause this boat to blow up. Just stay back." He turned and began to climb the ladder.

Charlie didn't care what Jack had to say. Who had said he was the leader, anyway? It wasn't a freaking democracy, Charlie reminded himself. There was no government or anything else on this island, and whatever Jack said didn't have to go.

So he climbed up behind Jack, reaching the top before Jack could protest.

"Charlie-" Jack started.

"Jack," Kate said, shaking her curly brown mane. "He's already here. Just let him help."

Charlie nodded, thankful that Kate had stuck up for him. Sawyer looked pleased, too, that Kate had objected to Jack's wishes. It didn't mean anything, her objecting, but he was sick of watching Kate and Jack agree with each other on each and every little detail about the island.

Kate and the others helped the deck survivors get off first, but a surprising amount were falling off the edges and, unfortunately, dying. Charlie couldn't believe how calm all the 815ers were being about this. He frantically ran across the deck and into the top level of rooms, the suites. He reached a lockdown door and knocked.

**Lockdown Room**

The sound of a fist against the wood would've made Ellie wince, but she was too scared to move a muscle in her body. The only small comfort was having Jake's arm around her shoulders, but it didn't help much, because he hadn't said one word to her since they'd gotten there except to shut her up.

"Should we get it?" Jenny asked from Andrew's side. The only ones in the lockdown room were twenty-two of the thirty Emory seniors.

"Of course we should, spaz," Jake grumbled, but he didn't get up. "Who do you think it's going to be, a big guy with a gun?"

That statement didn't make much sense, so Ellie figured that was who Jake was worried it would be. But she didn't say anything. Instead she watched Andrew slowly rise. The knock sounded again.

"Anyone in here?" shouted the voice of a young British man.

Ellie felt a smile burst onto her face. "The Brits are going to save us!" she cheered. "Thank God for Brits!"

She heard a muffled laugh. "Heard that. C'mon, let me in. I promise I don't bite."

Andrew looked at them for approval. Jenny and the others nodded, so Andrew slowly opened the door.

Charlie was surprised to see a bunch of young, healthy-looking college students who actually didn't look all that scared. But he was mostly excited to find out who had said "Thank God for Brits."

He scanned the room for a moment before seeing her. She looked like she felt miserable, and yet she looked beautiful. Her long, tangled red hair fell to the sides of her shirt, which had a British flag on it. He automatically realized that she was the Thank God for Brits girl, and grinned eagerly at her.

Meanwhile, Ellie was stunned. No way could this be _the _Charlie Pace. She had been in love with him for what felt like forever. She had never liked the singer of Driveshaft much, his brother Liam, but she had always loved Charlie and his cute outfits, as well as his hilarious personality on talk shows. But instead of jumping up and hugging him, she stared at him coldly. Because that was what Ellie did: she spited people. And while Jake and the others would think she'd love him, she didn't say a word to him.

"This is quite rotten luck for all of you," Charlie informed them. "You see, me and my friends down there have been marooned on this queer island for quite a few months now. You lot were our only hope for survival. Then again, there might still be some." No one had the nerve to say anything, so he shrugged. "All right, then, come on. We've got to get you out of here before the boat tips."

A tall, preppie-looking boy that Charlie automatically disliked was whispering something into the redhead's ear. Ellie, or the redhead, chuckled softly, and Charlie wondered if it was about him. A lot of people commented on him being a has-been, so he wouldn't be surprised.

Instead of saying anything, however, he just backed out of the doorway and let them all leak out. Ellie and Jake were the last two, a completely odd couple (yet it was obvious that they were just that—a couple). Charlie smiled his cutest smile, and Ellie felt her heart beg her brain to let her hug him or even say something to him. But Jake yanked her hand again, obviously jealous (she had told him who Charlie was), and she turned her head before making eye contact with Charlie.

Charlie sighed. Why was he always attracted to the girls who didn't give a care in the world about him?

**Main Deck**

Sawyer stared longingly at Kate from across the deck as he helped a few annoying college seniors off the boat. He didn't stare longingly at anyone but her, ever, because he thought the whole thing was kind of a waste. But it was so easy to stare at her, and he found it so pleasurable.

She helped a few children down, but most of them were too scared to leave. She looked like she was practically begging them to leave, but there was still a sensitivity to her that Sawyer found alluring. Here she was, leading children around to keep them alive while risking her own life, and only a few weeks before, she had told him she'd killed a man. He couldn't connect the dots.

No matter how brave she was being, Sawyer wanted her off. He wanted to get off too, of course, but no way was he leaving without Kate. He'd seen her almost die quite a few too many times, and he didn't want it to _actually _happen. But before he could talk to her, Charlie ran up to them with about twenty collegians. Some of the seniors he was helping stopped and ran over to them.

"What is this?" Sawyer demanded grumpily. He had been in the middle of saving them. They weren't helping him look like a hero in front of Kate. "Some kinda college vaca shindig?"

A redheaded girl Sawyer actually found pretty good-looking in her own grudge way laughed. "Who's the redneck?" she asked.

He felt a vein in the side of his head pulsing. Such grateful people.

"That's Sawyer," Charlie explained. "You might not want to piss him off."

Jack walked over to them, interrupting Charlie's time talking with Ellie. "Hey," Jack said, "good job, Charlie." Charlie beamed. "All right, everyone, slowly down the ladder. And tell us if you've seen any kids—we can't find any."

"It's not a kids' boat," explained Jake. "It's a science expedition."

"Oh," Sawyer said, chuckling to himself. "So you guys are like PhD nerds, right?"

Ellie groaned. This annoying blonde was almost as bad as Jake himself. "We're just normal upperclassmen," she explained, "who happened to find a cure for the bird flu."

Jack's eye's shot over to her, for once not noticing Kate as she walked over to them, too. Sawyer did, though. He ignored her disapproving glance at him for treating the survivors badly.

"You found a cure for bird flu?" Jack repeated in astonishment.

Jenny grinned. "We're awesome, I know. But could we get off now?"

Jack nodded speechlessly, led them to the end of the boat, and escorted everyone onto the ladder. They all slowly climbed down. Finally all the Emory students were free. But that wasn't the strange part. Once the college students were down, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the other 815ers followed, not seeing anyone else on the deck. They waited by the side to see if anyone else was there, but the second Gin's feet touched the sand, the boat collapsed onto its side and splashed into the water. Whoever had been in it was now dead. So, unfortunately, were many of the scientists who had been standing underneath the boat's new crashing point.

For some strange reason, the island had accepted the Emory students. But for another strange reason, it had rejected everyone else.

**The Beach**

Through the long day, people went in and out of the destroyed ship. All the passengers were dead, but Sawyer received many new trinkets and medicine, and Ellie and the other collegians got all their suitcases back successfully. After that long day of finding and collecting things, all the survivors of both crashes were circled around a fire.

"First of all, there are some good things about the island," Jack was saying. "There's enough food for everyone, and there's a hatch where we can take showers and eat, as long as we divide our time carefully."

Ellie raised her eyebrows. "You guys have a _shower _on this island?"

Jack nodded. "It, like a lot of other things, was there when we got here."

"Wait." Andrew had a hard time believing this. "This is an uncharted island. How could a shower be here if no people have been here?"

Sawyer snorted. "People have been here, believe me."

"Sawyer," Kate scolded; and turned to Andrew. "There are people here. We call them The Others, and they're not exactly the friendliest of people."

"They've done some pretty bad things to us," Jack said, not wanting to say too much to scare the newcomers.

"_Pretty bad things_?" Charlie repeated, robbing the Emory students' attention. "They kidnapped me and Claire, tried to hang me, and tried to take her baby!" Jack shook his head for Charlie to stop, but he just shook his head right back. "I'm not going to lie to them," Charlie said bitterly. "They need to know what's out there."

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

A large tent found in the remains of the _Expedition _had been put up for the thirty Emory students—the twenty from the lockdown room and the ten that Sawyer had found on the deck. Now they were all scattered around in mangy sleeping bags, mostly staying up talking.

"Do you think we'll be rescued?" Ellie asked to whoever was listening.

Jake shrugged, but Jenny nodded. "I do," she said. "I don't know what the 815ers' deal was, but we weren't very far off course. And there were locators on our ship specifically for this reason. I'm sure we'll be rescued." But there was a hint of doubt in her voice.

"They _were _off course," Ellie agreed, "but Charlie said they left from Australia, and Fiji isn't that far away from Australia. Don't you think someone would've at least flown over them here?"

"You're talking to him?" Jake demanded hotly.

"He was talking to all of us," Ellie mumbled defensively. Jake didn't reply.

"This sounds like just about the last place in the world I want to be," said another of the collegians, Samantha. "I just can't believe it's been sixty days for them and no one's come!"

"Calm down," Ellie said immediately in a soothing voice. She had surprised herself by doing it, but she did. "We're going to save ourselves and the 815 survivors."

Jake grinned. "Yeah. And then we'll be the heroes who found the cure for bird flu _and _saved a group of crash survivors."

But to Ellie, it wasn't about fame any more. It was about being stuck on an island with one of her favorite celebrities of all time. Of course, she wasn't going to tell him that. Because it was Ellie, and for reasons she couldn't understand, she was going to spite him.

**The Beach**

"Have you ever heard of Driveshaft?"

It was the next morning, and Charlie had seen her baggy black THE KINKS shirt and immediately found hope that she liked his band.

Ellie snorted. "That has-been pop group? Yeah."

Charlie's face fell in an instant, and Ellie felt pain swell up inside of her, but she didn't say anything.

"Oh," he said with a shrug. "Okay, then."

Ellie sighed as he walked away. She couldn't do this to him. He didn't understand her. Not yet.

But she couldn't follow him, either. Because as hard as it was for her to do what others expected, it was a thousand times harder for her to apologize for _not _doing what they expected.

**END OF CHAPTER TWO**

I hope you liked it! I know there's too many OC's and not enough original characters, but you'll get to read a lot more about Charlie, Kate, Sawyer, and the others as the story goes on. This is going to be about twelve chapters, about this long. Hope you enjoy!

**KISSBANGX3 aka CHARLIE LOVER**


	3. Psychic

Sorry this chapter took longer than the other two—I went to my friend's lake house for a few days. But here it is. I hope you like it. It's kind of like my idea about why most of the people are there, and what they have in common, but it's not a spoiler, because it's all made up.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Lost. _Or the 815 passengers. Just my ship survivors.

Chapter One: Psychic

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

"Aha."

Ellie's eyes darted up when she found Charlie in the _Expedition _survivors' tent, looking through her suitcase.

"How long have you been standing there?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "Not that long."

"So what was the 'aha' for?" she asked, trying to ignore how cute his little pug nose was. She knew Jake would be here any minute, and she didn't really want the two boys to collide.

Charlie beamed, holding up a shirt of hers. She sighed. Written across the shirt, in big white letters, was the word DRIVESHAFT.

"You _do _like us, don't you?" he asked, smirking.

"That was a hand-me-down from my sister," Ellie said. It was true, but she didn't mention that she had begged Allison for it from the day she bought it.

"You like us," he teased insistently. Ellie couldn't help but feel a small smile trickle onto her face, and she realized that it had probably been months since she had last smiled. No one in her life knew how to make her smile—nor did they care, for that matter, besides possibly Allison.

"_Liked _you," she corrected. "Until your brother had a baby and you stopped touring and recording."

Charlie looked a little disappointed at the memory, but he was much more excited that she knew so much about them. "Finally," he sighed, "a fan. The only others who knew about me were John—and I don't really care about him; he's a bloody lunatic—and some friend of Kate's. But not Kate. So really, you're the only one."

Just as Ellie's smile was widening, Jake walked in, and it completely left her face.

"Hey, buddy, could you do us all a favor and take your sorry ass outta here?" Jake sneered, not bothering to give Charlie a second glance.

Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Whoa," he said in surprise. "That was unexpected. Do I know you?"

"My name," Jake snarled, "is Jake. Now could you leave?"

"Um." Charlie didn't looked scared. He just looked confused. "Do you know me? And why do you hate me?"

"Yeah, you're that washed up pop star," Jake said. "And I know that if _Ellie _listens to your music, it sucks. So get out."

Charlie, like Ellie, couldn't stand it when people insulted his music taste. But Charlie, unlike Ellie, wasn't going to stand around and try to spite people.

"Excuse me," Charlie said, "but what are you doing, degrading your girlfriend's music taste?" Charlie was assuming they were a couple from how close they had been in the lockdown room.

"Don't ever tell me how to treat her," Jake commanded hotly.

Charlie just stared at him, completely mortified by what an awful person he was, when Eko walked into the shelter.

"Charlie," he said, "have you given up on the church? You haven't worked on it in days, and some of the _Expedition _survivors are talking about wanting a place to properly pray."

Charlie glared at him. "So you finish it," he suggested. He had basically saved Eko's life, but he was still mad at the priest.

Eko looked uncertain. "I suppose my time with Locke has ended," he admitted. He was still completely furious at John Locke for everything he had done.

Charlie nodded. "Luckily," he snorted.

"So why don't you go help the Father build his church?" Jake suggested to Charlie.

Charlie glared at him, gave one final smile to Ellie, and left.

**The Church**

"Hey," Claire shouted up at Charlie, who was nailing in some wood blocks to the roof of his church. "You're going to break your neck!"

_So now you talk to me, _Charlie thought to himself, but he was more glad than mad. He still couldn't stop having feelings for Claire. There was just something angelic about her that he couldn't explain, and it attracted him to her. "I'll be fine," he shouted back with a reassuring smile.

Far off in the distance, Charlie could see Jake walking out of the shelter with Jack, probably offering to help do some work. The football star probably didn't want to get out of shape for the next game, Charlie mused darkly. A few minutes later, Ellie crept out of the shelter. Charlie felt confused. Why did she stay with Jake when she was so _scared _of him? No, scared wasn't the right word…he couldn't think of it. She just didn't mind the way he treated her. Charlie couldn't believe it.

He chatted amiably with Claire, still wondering if she was mad at him from their last fight, until Ellie walked over to them.

"Hey," Ellie greeted Claire with a light, almost invisible smile. "I'm Ellie."

"Claire," Claire replied with a wide smile. She shook Ellie's hand. "It's a pleasure."

Ellie nodded. "So what were you doing when your plane crashed?"

Charlie was surprised at how bold she was. He had been around Claire for about two months now, and he'd never asked her that. They kept their talks leashed.

"I was traveling to talk to an interested couple," Claire explained. Ellie looked confused, so Claire clarified, "About adopting Aaron." She gestured to the baby she was cradling. Charlie knew this part. Claire had been planning on putting her baby up for adoption.

"_Oh._" Ellie nodded. "You were pregnant when you were on the plane?"

Claire nodded.

"So you had your baby on the _island_?" Ellie asked in surprise.

Claire nodded again. "You know Kate, the one with the dark curly hair?" When Ellie nodded, Claire explained, "She delivered my baby. And Charlie helped."

"What about Jack?" Ellie asked, not responding to the Charlie part. She didn't want to know if Charlie and Claire were some kind of Adam-and-Eve of the island. "Isn't he a doctor?"

Charlie frowned, knowing that Claire wouldn't respond. "He was busy," he explained. "With someone who got hurt."

"Who?" Ellie asked interestedly.

Charlie glanced at Eko, but he hadn't been there. "Uh. Boon," Charlie said. "He's kind of…dead."

Ellie took a step back. "People _died _on this island?"

"We haven't told you guys everything yet," Claire explained to Ellie. "But yes, quite a few have. Boon has, Shannon has…all that stuff with Charlie and me…and Walt has been kidnapped."

Ellie's heart began racing. "You mean by the Others?" she asked. She had forgotten about her last conversation with Charlie, where she learned that he and Claire had been kidnapped. Now it was all coming back to her.

Charlie shook his head. "No, Boon didn't die because of the Others. There was a plane, and he was in it when it crashed. It was a small plane."

"A drug-smuggling plane," Eko explained, wiping sweat off his forehead. "My brother and I sent it out to get rid of drugs in my country."

"Everything about this island is weird," Claire explained. "Just…weird."

"You're telling me," Ellie snorted. "Why would someone fly in their eighth month?"

"I told you," Claire said, "I was interviewing a family."

"There are plenty in Australia," Ellie said. "Why did you have to go to LA?"

Claire sighed. "Okay, I kind of got the creeps from this psychic."

Charlie nodded eagerly. "This is going to be the most bloody _wicked _story you've ever heard," he told Ellie with a wide smile.

Claire looked at him cluelessly. "What? How do you know about it?"

"You told me!" Charlie said immediately. Ellie laughed to herself.

"I didn't tell anyone!" Claire argued.

"Oh." Charlie sighed. "That was before you lost your memory." He turned to Ellie and said, "Long story." Then he turned back to Claire. "But I thought Libby got your memory back."

When he mentioned Libby, Mr. Eko outlined his head and shoulders as respect for the dead. Ellie held back her snorts.

"Not all of it," Claire said.

Charlie shrugged. "Well, you told me all about it. And as I was saying, this is a bloody wicked story."

Claire rolled her eyes, and Ellie didn't know how to respond. She had always been an atheist, which was why she found this church thing pointless, but she'd never thought about psychics. Could they really be real? By this point, it seemed like anything could.

"Anyway, during the reading, the psychic told me-"

"Wait," Mr. Eko interrupted. "What is this psychic's name?"

"He didn't say," Claire said, "come to think of it. But he lived in a pretty nice house back in Australia, and he was older, balding…always counted his money?"

Eko frowned. "Claire, I once encountered an acclaimed 'psychic' in my line of work who sounds quite like yours, and he too was suspicious."

Claire nodded eagerly. "Really? What did he say?"

"There was a girl whose mother claimed she 'came back from the dead,'" Eko explained, shuddering at the memory. "The whole thing was bizarre, but in the end the psychic was practically defending himself, claiming that he wasn't psychic and he didn't know what was going on. But, as an onlooker, it seemed like he was very, very much a psychic."

Ellie found the whole thing almost funny, but Claire was turning more pale than usual, and even Charlie looked very questioning.

So again, Ellie wondered the same thing: Just how unusual _was _this island?

**The Hatch**

"Hey," Kate greeted airily when coming into the hatch. Jack was leaning against a wall in a bored manner, staring icily at the computer. She could tell he was very sick of pushing the button.

"Hey," Jack finally replied, looking up at her. "What's up?"

Kate frowned. "I don't know. Just disappointment, mostly. It's already the second day, and no one's come. I don't want to be using the new survivors, but honestly, didn't you kind of think there was hope when they crashed here?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. At least, I hoped there was hope. But this is the island, and something's telling me we're going to spend at least a few years here."

Kate shuddered at the thought, but she didn't look completely upset about it.

"That doesn't seem to disappoint you," Jack observed. "Might it be because of your wild past?"

"Oh, yeah, Freckles has a great past." Sawyer smirked at them as he walked into the room. "Breakin' the law, killin' people. She was quite the rebel."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Hey, Sawyer," she said.

He nodded in response.

"Anyway," Kate said to Jack, "I just don't have much to go back to. I feel like the people on the island are the only important people in my life."

Jack nodded. "There's something else we all have in common. The survivors, I mean. We all seem to have pretty pathetic lives. I mean, no one back home cares about us."

"Really?" Kate asked interestedly. "I hadn't noticed."

"Judging from what I've heard about everyone, it is," Jack said. He turned to Sawyer. "You didn't have anyone, did you?"

Sawyer shook his head. "Mom's dead, Dad's dead, no siblings, no wife." He said it coldly, without much feeling, and Kate felt her heart go out to him.

"See?" Jack said. "My mom passed away a while ago." He said this with regret that Sawyer hadn't, but not in a grieving way. "My dad died just before the crash. And I just finished all the divorce settlements."

Kate shrugged. "Maybe that's true. My mom's dead…dad's dead…stepdad's dead." She said this more coldly, but with dead fierce when she said "stepdad." "Never was engaged. No siblings."

Jack nodded, looking like he was getting onto something. "Yeah. And Charlie? No one, except maybe the brother, but I don't think he cares much. He has his own life. I think Claire's dad is dead, and Charlie told me her mom basically disowned her. And Aaron's father left them. Eko's brother is dead, and I don't think he has very caring parents (if any)."

"That _is _all pretty weird," Kate admitted. "Jin's dad was a poor farmer who couldn't afford to search for us, and Sun's dad was filthy rich, but he didn't care about her at all. Sayid didn't have a family or a wife, besides a lover, but she didn't know where he was."

Sawyer grinned. "Muhammad had a lover?" he joked.

Kate rolled her soft green eyes, but Jack nodded eagerly.

"None of us have anyone to look for us," he said. "Michael and Walt are all they've got. Same with Rose and Bernard. Do you really think it's all coincidence? Or do you think we were chosen to come to the island, but to keep it a secret?"

"But what about the newcomers?" Kate objected. "I mean, they have families. I talked to Jenny, and she said her parents had been in the middle of planning her wedding with Andrew, even though apparently he hadn't actually proposed yet. And Andrew had parents who were looking forward to it, too."

Jack nodded. "That's true. Jake helped me with work earlier, and he told me that his dad was the one who got him into the whole football thing. And he was talking about how that redheaded girl, Ellie, was his girlfriend, and how neither of his country-club-type parents approved."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Rich types," she muttered.

Sawyer clicked his tongue. "Stop stereotyping, girlie. Not long before you call me a redneck."

"Redneck," Kate snapped. She couldn't resist. Sawyer grinned.

"Anyway," Jack said in an annoyed voice, "they _do _have families. So why would the island want them?"

"Whoa." Sawyer shook his head. "Hold up. The island doesn't _want. _Don't tell me you've joined John's little island cult."

Jack sighed. "Sawyer, I'm done with the whole man-of-science thing. I'm not a man of faith, but I believe what I observe, and that's that there's something really weird about this island. I'm going to use phrases like 'the island wants,' and if you don't like it, you can leave."

Sawyer clicked his tongue again. "Testy," he said with a shake of his gold head. Kate laughed.

"Anyway," Jack said, "I just don't see how they fit in here."

"Maybe," Kate suggested, "the island didn't want an exploring troupe to map it out. So it took the ship in because of panic."

Jack nodded. "That's good. So it wanted us, but it accepted them because otherwise they'd get away."

Sawyer groaned, but Kate continued. "Yeah. It took the risk of being found over the certainty of being found."

"Then why are the Others there? And why was the Black Rock there?" Jack asked.

"The Black Rock was probably a search party, too," Kate said. "Or maybe they weren't, but they had mapping equipment with them. So the island wanted to make sure they didn't declare that it was there. And the Others…well, I think the island chose them. Either that, or they _are _the mind of the island."

Sawyer shook his head. "Not you too, Freckles."

"But how did it get us here?" Kate asked, ignoring Sawyer again. "I mean, how did the Others get us here, if that were the case?"

Jack shook his head. "I'm not following you."

"I know they made the plane crash. Maybe that has something to do with the magnetic field, who knows? But how did they get us on the planes in the first place? I don't think they're that capable."

As Sawyer swore about crazy freckled rebels and obsessive-compulsive spinal surgeons, Jack considered Kate's statement. "Maybe through connections? They could've somehow hired people who were, I don't know, different. But out in the real world."

Kate grinned. "What, like psychics? Do you really believe in them?"

**The Church**

"So what, are you guys seriously saying the psychic was in cahoots with the island?"

Charlie noticed that all the girls he'd ever had feelings for also contradicted at least some of the things he had opinions on. He wondered if there was something wrong with him—perhaps his girl radar was wrong? If he had girl radar. He wasn't sure.

"Don't say it like that," Claire objected to Ellie. "You know you're considering it."

Ellie didn't mention the fact that this was completely true.

"I'm not sure how important it all is," Eko admitted. "It's just strange that the same psychic made both of us go to Los Angeles. Do you think he had anything do with anyone else?"

Charlie shrugged. "If he sent my brother to Australia…"

"That's actually possible," Ellie blurted out without thinking. When she was around Charlie, she always seemed to just speak her mind. It almost scared her. "I mean, a lot of musicians believe in spiritual stuff. Your brother probably did—he probably called a psychic and asked him what to do about being a dad and all."

"How do you know all of that?" Claire asked interestedly.

Ellie shrugged. "Google."

Charlie felt another grin spreading.

"So perhaps the psychic was involved in all of our reasons for flying to LA and being in Sydney," Eko said. "And he was somehow in contact with the island?"

Claire nodded. "It's possible. I'll go pitch the idea to Jack and Kate." She walked over to Sun, gave Aaron to her for now, and left for the hatch.

Charlie and Eko kept building the church as Claire left to find Jack and Kate. Ellie watched Charlie work a minute before leaving. Despite her wash of feelings for Charlie, Ellie kept putting up with Jake, because he was her boyfriend. And it was about more than spiting people now. It was about loyalty, and despite their differences and troubles, Jake had managed to stay somewhat loyal to her.

**Near the Hatch**

Jake was searching for the top of the hatch when he heard the snapping of some twigs behind him. He wasn't sure if he believed all the crap the survivors were feeding him, but he still felt his pulse going a little faster when he heard it. He slowly turned around, his piercing eyes darting around.

"Hey," came a sweet voice to him from the snapped twig. He relaxed when he saw a very gorgeous girl walking over to him. She had long, curly blond hair, and she walked up to him with a wide smile. He recalled her as the one with the baby, but she didn't have him with her.

"I'm Claire," she added with an angelic smile. "Are you from the _Expedition_?"

He nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah, I'm Jake." He couldn't believe it. He was never speechless around girls. Until Ellie, no one had even known he could commit. And he hadn't exactly committed himself very well with her.

"Are you here to talk to Jack?" she asked, lowering herself into the hatch. He let her take his hand as she steadied herself before beginning her climb down the ladder.

He nodded, letting her get down a bit before following. "Yeah, I've been helping him with some cleaning and stuff. He's the sanest guy of the 815 survivors, if you ask me."

Claire laughed. "You could say that."

"So why are you here?" Jake called down to her.

"Long story," she shouted back. "It has to do with a psychic. Do you believe in that stuff?"

He sighed. "Before? No. My parents were—are—devout Christians, and I pretty much went with the flow, so I didn't believe in stuff like that."

"But now?" Claire asked with a grin.

"Obviously, I think almost anything is possible. But I still have my doubts." He listened as Claire jumped to the floor before getting off the ladder.

"Hey, angel," Sawyer greeted Claire in the foyer of the hatch. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, he's Jake," Claire said easily. She'd never had any feelings for Sawyer. She'd thought it was because he was Southern, but Jake was from Georgia, and Claire certainly felt at least a few feelings flutter around when talking to Jake. He reminded her a lot of Thomas, Aaron's father, but the good qualities, not the bad ones. They were both polite, clean-cut, taken by her, and sweep-you-off-your-feet-type guys. That was probably why Claire had so many feuds with Charlie: he wasn't like that.

"Oh yeah, Jake. The doc was talking about you. You're little Ellie's big man, huh?"

Claire looked at him in surprise. He was going out with _Ellie_? From Claire's short experience with her, she hadn't seen Ellie as the kind of girl who'd date a quarterback Christian college senior. Then again, Ellie hadn't seemed like any normalkind of girl, anyway.

"Where's Jack?" Claire asked instead, dismissing Sawyer's earlier question.

He shrugged. "Kitchen, talking to Freckles. As usual." He said this with extreme distaste.

"Thanks," Claire said easily, and turned to Jake. True, he was taken, but she wasn't planning on _doing _anything with him. Claire wasn't really a go-getter, just a slight flirter. "Are you coming?"

Jake nodded, still bewildered by her strong presence, and followed her into the hatch's kitchen section. Jack was talking to Kate about some kind of connections when Claire lifted a hand in greeting.

"Hi, Claire," Kate said with a smile. She smiled more to Jake—not because she was interested in him, but because he was new, and she was a nice person. While Jake found Kate good looking, he still felt drawn to Claire.

"You must be Jake," Kate greeted Jake, offering a hand. He shook it easily.

"Not to interrupt," Claire said, "but I was talking to Eko, and there's something pretty important I wanted to tell you."

"Sure," Jack said with a nod. "What is it?"

"Well, I know you're a doctor and don't believe in psychics, but there's at least one that's real."

She said it so plainly that everyone, even Sawyer (who'd made his way back to the kitchen), was silent. Finally she continued.

"You might've had to be there, but he knew our plane was going to crash. He told me that I had to raise the baby on my own, and that I should see a family in LA about adoption. But there was no family in LA. This was it. He knew the plane would crash."

Kate sent Jack a glance that was returned with a nod. They were thinking the same thing.

"Eko knew the same psychic. We're not sure about his name, but it was the same guy. He had something to do with a little girl who came back from the dead, I think."

"Useful talent," Sawyer mused.

"Did anyone else say anything about a psychic?" Kate asked Claire.

Claire shook her head. "No, but Charlie said his brother probably called a psychic before going to the rehab clinic in Sydney. That would explain why he was in Sydney."

"So what are you telling us?" Kate asked slowly.

Claire took a deep breath. "I think," she said, "that the island wanted us, the survivors of flight 815. Those of us who end up dying will die to teach the rest of us a lesson, and it was all part of the plan. They got us on flight 815 by using the psychic I saw, and they used the magnetic field to make the plane crash. They didn't want the college students, or anyone else on the _Expedition,_ but they didn't want to be found, either, so they brought it in to crash."

"We were just talking about why we were safe to be here for the island," Kate said. "Because no one would look for us. But Claire, you're right. That tells why the _Expedition _survivors have relatives and we don't. It's because they were last-minute, and we were chosen."

Jack nodded. "It sounds to me that if we had one choice as to who landed us here, it would be the psychic."

"But who would communicate with the psychic?" Claire asked.

"The Others," Jake said, catching on quickly. And for once, even Sawyer looked like he agreed.

**END OF CHAPTER THREE**

Thanks for the reviews, you guys! They really inspired me to keep writing. I hope you like the latest addition to my story, and keep reviewing! Tell me if you have any ideas, but I think I have the layout of my story down.

Note that this is just my IDEA of what happens. I have no idea if this is what the producers of the show have in mind.

Oh yeah, I included the characters more this time. So there was more of Kate, Jack, Sawyer, Eko, Claire, and everyone else. I'll include Jin and Sun and Michael in the next ones. Maybe Rose and Bernard, if I can. It's just hard to fit everyone. Oh yeah, Sayid too, but he's kind of fallen out since the second season started.

Thanks a ton and keep reviewing!

KISSBANGX3/AKA/COMPLETELY IN LOVE WITH CHARLIE PACE GIRL


	4. Harmony

Hey, just so everyone knows, I have two important things…one, this story could be a spoiler. I think some people learned that the hard way…sorry! And the other one is just that I don't think Claire and Charlie belong together (except their kiss was very, VERY nice, I must say—crap, another spoiler, I'm shutting up). They're too different and not compatible. So I hope you keep reading, but if you think you can't stand to see them apart, well, I won't be offended if you don't like my story. Now on with it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. But I can still download pictures of the characters!

Chapter Four: Harmony

**The Beach**

No matter where she was, Kate was always torn.

Usually she was torn over whether or not to run. Everyone always assumed that she ran without thinking, but they were wrong. She always thought first. Still, after thinking it over, she always made up her mind to run. Finally she was on the island, a place where she couldn't run if she wanted to. And she found herself torn over something else.

Jack was the cliché good guy—sweet, committed, goodhearted, and loyal. Kate genuinely loved being with him, because he made her feel safe. She was always at ease around him. But then there was Sawyer, and he seemed to be so much of a better fit for her. He wasn't a cliché anything, but he was definitely a bad boy—tough, mean, and incredibly good-looking, but still having a soft side.

Her brain was screaming Jack, but her heart was screaming Sawyer. Her kiss with Jack had been tender and safe, but her kiss with Sawyer for the inhalers had been passionate and meaningful.

"Whatcha thinking about, Freckles?"

Kate sighed. He had a way with interrupting her thoughts. "Nothing," she lied, since she couldn't exactly tell him she had been thinking about him. "You?"

"Our little miss Claire," he told her. "I think she's becoming Jake's Eve."

Kate shook her head. "No, Jake's with Ellie."

"What, the redhead? No. She's too good for him."

That was another thing about Sawyer: no security. Kate wasn't even sure that he liked her. Well, she knew he liked her in a physical way, but she wasn't sure he wanted to be with her. She told herself he, like everyone else, wanted love, but there were times when his cold ways hit her so hard that she wondered if he was even capable of loving someone. And whatever it was that they had, which certainly wasn't love, didn't restrict him from talking about, liking, or flirting with other girls.

"Well, they're together," Kate said with a shrug. "Ellie told me they've been together since high school."

Sawyer groaned. "Not you, too."

"What?" Kate asked defensively.

"You're becoming a social butterfly with the shipwrecked kids," Sawyer explained. "I don't see how you guys do it. You've spent half your time with me and Jack! How do you have time for them?"

Kate shrugged. "Uh, by using the other half of my time?" she suggested blatantly. She wondered if he was right. Did she spend half her time with him and Jack? She hadn't noticed. She felt like she knew everyone so well that when they were together and apart, the time still ticked by the same way.

"Whatever," Sawyer grunted. "I just don't see how you have the time."

"What _else _is there to do on this island?" Kate asked.

He grinned. "I could think of a few things," he said suggestively. Kate rolled her eyes, laughed for a second, and got up to leave. She wasn't in the mood to flirt with him when she couldn't get her mind straight. And if her mind wasn't even straight, how was she going to listen to her heart?

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

Ellie was struggling to remember what G sounded like. She'd always had a good ear, but she'd also had a tuner and a piano handy when she'd been at home. Now she had neither, and she had to search her mind to recall the tone G natural made.

Finally she separated it from G flat and sharp, ignoring the few people scattering around her, listening to see if she'd play any songs. But Ellie didn't like playing songs in front of people, so she kept playing scales until everyone left.

"You know, you have quite a handy ear."

Ellie rolled her emerald eyes. At this point, she was used to Charlie sneaking up on her.

"Hey," she said with a sigh.

"I was serious," he informed her with a smile. "I can't separate a G from an F to save my bloody life. Care to tune mine?"

She looked up to see him holding his guitar hopefully. It was an electric-acoustic, and she was pretty impressed with it. Her electric was worn, and it didn't have much use out here without its amp. So a chance to play a good guitar seemed good to her.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to accept his guitar. She felt like it was a metaphor, and it was like accepting Charlie as a friend. And as much as she liked having him around, she didn't want to admit it. Besides, he had Claire, right? He didn't need her. And she had Jake, whatever that meant. So she shook her head, lowering it back to her own guitar and plucking at it.

"You don't like me," Charlie stated.

Ellie didn't say anything.

"Okay, that's not true," he corrected himself. "You _do _like me. You just don't want to admit it, for some bizarre American reason, possibly?"

"Whatever reason I have," she mumbled, "it's _not _American."

He laughed. "Well, whatever grudge you have against me, it shouldn't stop you from playing a little with me, should it?"

Ellie said nothing.

"C'mon," he said with a convincing look. "Back in your old life, wouldn't you have wanted to play with me?" He didn't say it in a stuck-up way, just in a convincing way.

But Ellie couldn't stand it when people assumed how she would act. She didn't want anyone labeling her off or reading into her. That was probably why she said, "You don't know anything about my old life. And then and now I would say, go play your bloody guitar by yourself." She mocked his British accent again on "bloody," but this time it wasn't in a funny way. It was in a way that stung.

**The Beach**

"I don't get it," Charlie said, walking up to Jake disgustedly. Finally he had found someone he could relate to, and she had brought on a whole new set of questions. "I don't get _her._"

Jake had seemed to get over being mad at Charlie. He just gave him a quizzical glance, then said, "Oh. You mean Elle."

Charlie nodded. "Yes. I just…" He frowned. "Do _you _get her?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "Charlie, if there's one piece of advice I can give you, it's to lay off. Ellie isn't like other girls. I don't know what kind of weird British ambitions you have with her, but she's not easy."

"Then why is she with _you_?" Charlie demanded. "You treat her like sodding dirt!"

Jake's jaw quivered. "You don't know me, and you don't know her. Ellie won't do anything you expect her to. And if you expect her to play her stupid guitar with you, or if you expect her to be your little friend, she won't. The day you expect her not to is the day she will."

"So what, you just decided not to expect her to be your girlfriend, and she was?" Charlie asked. He was persistent for reasons he couldn't explain. He just wanted to understand her. Things were so rocky with Claire, and for once, he wanted a relationship he was in to work.

"I don't have to explain us to you," Jake said coldly.

"But you could. I'm not going to steal your girl, Jake, but she's the only person on this island worth talking to, and I'm sick of not knowing stuff."

Jake sighed. "Fine. We went out on a stupid dare. Ellie did it because everyone said she'd never, ever date a jock. And because of that, she did. On a dare. And it lasted five freaking years. You know why? Because I don't question her. And you're not going to get anywhere with her if you do."

Charlie stared at him for a few seconds. What was wrong with him? He seemed like a normal, decent, civil person until it came to Ellie. Sure, she was a pretty girl, but did she really have such a big effect on him? He didn't _seem _like he loved her, that was for sure. And yet, whenever he talked with Jake about Ellie, Jake got defensive and acted like he knew all about her.

"You know what?" Charlie asked. "You don't deserve her. Ellie deserves better than you."

Jake snorted. "And you think _you're _better than me? You're a freaking junkie!"

Charlie glared at him. He wasn't a junkie anymore, and he was getting really fed up with hearing about it. "Later," he said sourly, and left.

**Outside Claire's Tent**

Jake couldn't figure Ellie out any more than anyone else. His prying had led to him becoming her boyfriend, and once he was, he stopped it. All of it. And now this was where he was.

But was this really what he wanted? Everyone who knew Ellie thought of him as a heartless, sexist pig who had some kind of mind control on her. But he wasn't, and he didn't. He was a normal guy who found a wonderful girl and didn't know how to treat her. But was that such a bad thing? No one knew how to treat Ellie. She was confusing.

He'd liked his first two days on the island because they were different. Not all of them were, of course, because things with Charlie and Ellie were the same as usual. But he'd helped Jack and talked to Kate, and they'd both brought out the good side of him, the side he'd thought was lost along the way. And when he talked to Claire, he'd felt everything light up inside of him. Jake was a normal, decent person. Things with Ellie had just made him look like a complete fool.

Claire, he decided, was his best way out. He wasn't about to break up with Ellie—after five years with the mysterious girl, he didn't think it was possible—but he felt like he was winning back his conscience, his right to end it. Ellie had had some kind of hold on him that was very similar to the hold he had on her. And Claire, out of anyone, had done the best job of pulling him out of it.

"Hey, Jake," she greeted when he opened the flap to her tent. She was cradling Aaron in one arm and dangling a small toy in front of him with the other.

"Hey," he replied. "I was just wondering if you needed anything."

She shook her head. "No, thanks. But if you'd like to talk, I wouldn't mind the company."

Jake smiled, nodded, and sat down beside her. "If you don't mind me asking," he said timidly, "who's the father of your baby?"

Claire rolled her big blue eyes in disgust. "Thomas," she said, "the most insufferable man on the planet."

Jake laughed. That was good. He wasn't too worried about Charlie standing in his way.

_No, _he reminded himself, _it's not that way with her. I'm not that person. It's just with Ellie._

Why was he even with Ellie? Sure, she was good looking, but she had never been his type. They had nothing in common, and it was obvious that she didn't like him much. She gave him "pleasure" now and then, but there were always other girls who could do that.

"So he's not here on the island?"

Claire shook her head. "No, he's not. Remember that psychic I was telling you about?"

Jake nodded.

"I went to him after Thomas broke up with me. He told me that I had to raise the baby or give it to a safe home. He told me about a family in LA and put me on flight 815. He knew it would crash."

Jake raised his eyebrows. "You sure give a boy a lot to take in." He hadn't meant it as a compliment, but he knew that was how it sounded. "I mean, about the psychic," he added quickly.

She laughed lightly. "I know," she said.

"I meant," he added in a flushed voice, "that it's a lot for you to expect me to believe." He didn't say it in a snotty way, but only in a factual way.

Claire nodded. "I know it is. But you do believe it, don't you?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. For some reason. I guess it's because you look fairly sane and believable."

Claire laughed, and they got to talking about normal things. Jake realized that he always either talked about incredibly bizarre stuff with Ellie, or they didn't talk at all. He loved being able to have a normal conversation with a fairly normal girl.

**The Hatch**

Kate looked nervously from Jack to Sawyer. They had both walked into the room at the same time, and for some reason, none of them had said a word. Now they were both staring at each other, each wondering what the other was thinking.

It had been at least a minute, and none of them could bring themselves to say anything. Finally Kate spoke.

"Um," she said, "I think we have some issues."

Jack and Sawyer spoke at the same time. Sawyer snorted and asked, "You think?" in a very sarcastic voice, and Jack shook his head and said, "No, we're fine."

Kate nodded. "Yeah, we definitely have some issues."

"Well," Jack said, "I just came to get some medicine for Sun."

"Why?" Kate asked quickly. "Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"

Jack smiled. "Relax," he said. "I just wanted some aspirin or something to calm down her morning sickness."

Kate did relax, but Sawyer just looked amused.

"Women," he said with a shake of his head, and left.

Jack went into the next room for the pills, and Kate was left alone to try to sort out her emotions. The relaxing doctor or the tense con man? She felt like the question was watching her every move.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

Ellie's head was spinning. Why was she treating Charlie so cruelly? Why couldn't she play her guitar right? Why did Jake keep leaving? And why hadn't they been rescued yet?

She wondered why she'd been able to play her guitar right when Charlie was around. Was it possible that he calmed her down? Whatever the reason, she wished he'd come back. She knew it was selfish, and she'd treated him like dirt the first few times, but something about him made her yearn for more of him.

As if on cue, a small knock sounded on one of the posts holding up their tent. Ellie smiled, because the tent didn't cover up Charlie's expectant face.

"Hey," he greeted hopefully, holding his guitar in one hand. "I was hoping you'd reconsider."

"Hold on," she said, and played her B again. Sure enough, she was able to recognize the pitch and change the B flat up a half step. Charlie was like a playing charm. She looked up at him with a smile and said, "Okay."

His smile widened as he sat next to her. They both helped each other tune their guitars for a few minutes. Once they were in tune, they simultaneously played some scales.

"What now?" Charlie asked.

Ellie considered. She could ask him to leave. Jake was gone, but he could be back any minute, and she didn't want anything to happen. Jake was still her boyfriend. Charlie was just her band mate, not even her friend yet.

Then again, why should she? Why did everything she do revolve around Jake? Couldn't she do something for herself for once?

Without saying anything, Ellie played something he knew she would recognize: the guitar solo at the beginning of _You All Everybody._

Charlie grinned and played with her.

"Sing," she probed.

He shook his head. "I never sang _You All Everybody. _Just the chorus, and hardly that."

"What, when your brother was hogging the mic in all those concerts?" Ellie asked with a grin. "Yeah, I know. But you know all the lyrics. So sing."

Charlie took a deep breath and let her play to the second stanza. He exhaled, inhaled, and sang.

The few students in the tent all looked up in surprise at the strange imitation of Driveshaft. Charlie's voice was even better than Liam's—it was obvious that Liam sang because of his looks, and Charlie didn't sing because his brother did. But with Ellie playing electric (she didn't have an amp, but it was loud enough), Charlie playing acoustic, and Charlie singing, they sounded amazing.

Once they reached the first chorus, Charlie grinned and nudged her. "I know you know the lyrics, too."

Ellie shook her head. She'd play, but there was no way she'd sing. But when he gave her a look that almost seemed hurt, she found herself covering it up. "Girls' voices suck," she informed him. "Well, except Karen O and Joan Jett. But they're exceptions."

Charlie laughed a genuine laugh and sang the chorus without her. Ellie kept playing and watched him in admiration. She knew he'd had a pretty terrible life, but you couldn't tell by his singing. The way it was with her and her guitar was the way it was with him and the lyrics. He sang them without thinking or breaking, and they flowed off his tongue easily. It was great to see and hear, and by now a crowd was gathering around them from the beach.

Charlie kept singing in the later stanzas, obviously enjoying the crowd. They obviously reminded him of Driveshaft's golden days. Ellie, however, didn't like the crowd. She found herself looking straight down at the dirt, trying to block out all the people she knew but still playing perfectly. Charlie couldn't believe how amazing it was that Ellie was hitting every note perfectly, and she'd never even been in the band. But Ellie looked like she did it with every song. She probably did.

By the second chorus, her head was up, sending small smiles to the crowd. Charlie smiled at the crowd, too, which now consisted of scattered 815 survivors he couldn't name, plus Hurley, Sayid, Sun, Michael, Eko, Rose, and Bernard. Almost all the college students were there, except Jake. Claire, Charlie noticed, was also gone, as well as Kate, Jack, and Sawyer.

Now the crowd was clapping along with the song. Charlie felt exhilarated, a warm feeling he hadn't felt in months, while Ellie looked embarrassed. Still, she looked like she was having fun, which was something she almost never felt.

They were halfway through the song. Ellie was smiling, even laughing, and having fun. And, for the first time in months, Charlie was playing and singing the way he used to. The two were creating a harmony that was almost unrecognizable.

**Claire's Tent**

Claire stopped mid-sentence when she heard music playing in the distance.

"Do you guys have a CD player, or something?" Jake asked in confusion. "Don't those have to be plugged in?"

Claire laughed lightly, her eyebrows still narrowed. "Yeah, they do, so it must be live."

"What, like _Ellie_?" Jake asked in surprise, turning toward the sound. "No. She's never played that well."

"I was thinking Charlie, actually," Claire said. "But maybe both of them?"

Jake narrowed his eyes. What was _with _Ellie and Charlie? Couldn't they just both live their separate wannabe-rock-star lives?

"Do you want to go listen?" Claire asked, obviously oblivious to Jake's anger.

He nodded. "Sure," he said slowly. Because as mad as he was at Ellie, he was that intrigued by Claire. So he left with her.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

Little did Ellie know, she and Charlie had done a lot more than just play for entertainment. The crowd gathered around them were dancing and clapping, actually having fun, like they were at a real concert instead of a tent on an uncharted island. They felt like they had on the golf course—they could momentarily forget about all the danger on the island and focus on the present: having fun listening to some great music.

But Ellie had to kick herself inside to keep playing when she saw Jake approaching them. He didn't look like he was having fun being caught up in the moment. Her heart felt twisted for two reasons: one, that he was going to be really mad about her playing with Charlie; and two, that he was standing in very close proximity to Claire, who apparently was drawn to him.

And even though Ellie sometimes felt like she would die to be free of Jake, she didn't like seeing Claire replace her in his heart.

**Outside the Hatch**

Once Kate got out of the back door of the hatch, she saw Sawyer sitting on a tree stump.

"Um," she said, "hi?"

Sawyer turned and nodded at her. "Howdy, Freckles," he said with a grin. "Now shush and listen."

Kate raised her eyebrows and sat down on a stump near him, not saying a word. Her ears finally caught a melody on the wind. She wondered if it was possible…was it really _You All Everybody _playing in the background? …But Charlie wouldn't play that by himself.

Sawyer grinned, enjoying the moment of harmony between him and Kate, but decided to interrupt it, anyway. "Sounds interesting, huh?" he asked.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, is it live?"

Sawyer nodded. "Oh, yeah. That new little college chick, Ellie, apparently has pop star radar. She's playing with Charlie right now."

"That's great," Kate said with a smile. "That should cheer Charlie up a lot, being able to play."

Instead of saying something sarcastic like Kate expected, Sawyer just nodded in agreement.

After listening to the music for a second longer, Sawyer said, "You know, those young little innocents over there spend a hell of a lot more time in relationships than us old folks."

Kate turned to him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Well, it was pretty obvious that Jake was gettin' some from Ellie, but now it's pretty obvious him and Claire are a thing, and you gotta notice the Ellie-Charlie thing. Plus there's another couple—Jenny and someone?—who are engaged, and they're what, twenty-two each? Maybe twenty-four, if they're doctors or whatever, but still."

Kate shrugged. "They're young. They flutter from person to person."

Sawyer shrugged. "Maybe. But we can't decide on anything, now can we, Freckles?"

The song ended, and Kate found herself staring straight into Sawyer's bold blue eyes. She'd been thinking the same thing for weeks, but why was it always her who had to decide?

Sawyer didn't want to pressure her, but he was sick of waiting, too. Still, the look in her soft green eyes gave him hope. He knew she didn't just consider him a friend, and he knew that between him and Jack, it was turning into a war.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

The applause wasn't, as Liam had sometimes referred to it, "deafening," but it was still reassuring. Charlie smiled widely as he set his guitar down. He hadn't felt so blissful in so long. But he turned to Ellie, and he didn't see happiness on her face. He saw panic.

"What is it?" Charlie asked, looking at her in a genuinely concerned way. "You sounded bloody brilliant, Ellie. Don't stress it."

Her eyes were on the entrance. Jake and Claire had left, and she was dying to go to Jake and straighten things out.

"Look, Charlie, this was really fun," she said honestly to him, trying to block his eyes from her sight. His cute, cloudy blue eyes looked confused and a little hurt, but mostly concerned, and she wasn't used to anyone feeling that was about her. No one ever _did _feel that way about her. So what was with Charlie?

"I'll be right back," she promised, and carefully set her guitar next to him. She weaved through the crowd with a fake smile plastered onto her face and left the huge tent. She scanned the beach for Jake, but she couldn't find him. She found Adidas tracks in the beach and followed them to what she assumed was Claire's tent.

**Inside Claire's Tent**

In the five years he'd been with Ellie, Jake had admired girls and flirted with girls. He'd done many disloyal things to her, but he'd never actually cheated on her—with a kiss, date, or otherwise. But now, staring at Claire from only a foot or so away from her, he felt desperate to. And he could tell she might just want it, too.

Claire wasn't a bad girl. And some things about Jake scared her. But he could commit, she could see that. He was great to talk to, and unlike anyone else on this stupid island, he was _normal. _The thought of being with someone normal made Claire long to be with him.

"You're Ellie's boyfriend," she said suddenly. It was all becoming almost scary now. Ellie was a nice (but troubled) girl, and Claire didn't want to make her unhappy. This wasn't right.

"Ellie's…" Jake tried to find the right word. Little did he know, Ellie was standing expectantly outside of Claire's tent, listening in on the conversation. "…different," he finished uneasily. "She's not like normal girls, and our relationship's not like normal relationships. I'm not saying it would be right to cheat on her, but I don't think she'd be surprised. What we have…it's kind of like it's for lack of something better, you know?"

Claire did know what he meant, but like he said, it didn't justify cheating on her.

"And I've tried breaking up with her. To be fair, I know she's tried breaking up with me. But we're in this situation where…I don't know…where neither of us physically _can. _And I'm beginning to think the only way we _can _beak up is because of another girl. Or boy, if the case may be. Besides, you saw her with Charlie. She's thinking about this kind of thing, too."

Claire looked like she was at least partially convinced. "So you're saying you'd tell her, if we…did something?" she asked slowly.

Jake nodded. "Yeah, I would. And it would finally be…" he inched his face closer to hers "…over."

Their lips joined for a kiss, and Ellie felt her heart snapping. She hadn't loved Jake, but he'd been all she had. And, like many people before him, Jake had betrayed her.

**END OF CHAPTER FOUR**

If you liked it, could you review? (puppy dog eyes) Sorry. I can't stand it when people are obsessed with reviews, but they make me happy, and if I'm happy, I write better, right? Heh…(grins) So review!

Next chapter will be very juicy…so be sure to check it out! There will be a minimum of two (2!) kisses, as well as at least one of the sci-fi why-are-they-on-the-island? moments. Plus…(gasp) someone will enter the jungle at the end of the chapter! BUM, BUM, BUM.

Loves,

KiSsBaNgX3


	5. Free

Thanks for the reviews, you guys! Here's your next chapter. And by the way, A DAY. I updated in one day. So be thankful and review this one too!

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost…anyone want to buy me Charlie? (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

Chapter Five: Free

**Outside Claire's Tent**

Their kiss lasted only a few seconds before Claire broke it off.

"Not now," Claire said in a strangled voice. Ellie glanced down at the dirt, feeling guilty. Jake was hers, and she didn't appreciate what she had. Claire obviously wanted him in a way that made Ellie want to puke. "Not yet," Claire added.

"You mean Ellie?" Jake asked, his hand flicking affectionately at Claire's light hair.

She nodded, looking nervous.

"Okay," Jake said softly, and got up.

Ellie darted behind the tent, her sharp green eyes focusing on him. She felt unexplainable anger toward him, but she also felt something she'd always missed before: fondness. Was that possible? He'd treated her so badly, and mostly all she'd ever wanted was to be free of him. So how could she possibly be fond of him? So much about Ellie was unusual, and even she couldn't explain herself.

She decided not to let herself think about it any more. Instead she got up and crept after him, noticing with a hint of panic that he was heading to the _Expedition _survivors' shelter, where she was guessing he would start interrogating Charlie.

"Charlie," Jake said when he reached the tent. His voice didn't sound cold—mostly ashamed—but also expectant. "Have you seen Ellie?"

Ellie peered through the entrance, counting on Jake not turning around.

Charlie narrowed his eyebrows at Jake. "Why should you care?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this," he said. "Could you just tell me where she is?"

Charlie shook his head. He looked like he wanted to say something hurtful, but he decided against it. Ellie was glad—the last thing she needed was a fight. "I haven't seen her since we played," Charlie said honestly. "She was headed to Claire's tent, or maybe the hatch?"

Jake nodded. "Thanks," he said without much feeling. "I'll check." He turned, and Ellie immediately jumped to the side. Luckily Jake didn't see her.

She rose and jumped back inside the tent. Charlie stared at her in surprise.

"Where were you?" he asked. "Jake was just looking for you."

Ellie nodded, lifting her unwashed red hair off her neck. She felt it, and sure enough, her neck felt like it was on fire. "Yeah, I know," she said with a shrug. "He wants to break up with me."

Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Oh," he said, looking expectant. Ellie said nothing. "Well, do you… I mean, you know… want to break up with him?"

Ellie shrugged. "I probably should, considering he kissed Claire, and all." She had no idea why she was telling him all of this. After all, she hardly knew him. Why should he care about what her boyfriend did with other girls? Then again, Ellie wasn't about to tell someone she knew well about this. That was how she was. When something big happened, she'd rather share it with a stranger than a friend.

Charlie looked completely taken aback. He wasn't sure which was more surprising—the fact that Jake would cheat on someone as amazing as Ellie, or the fact that Claire would kiss someone as pathetic as Jake. "Are you sure?" he asked finally.

Ellie laughed. That was an interesting reaction. "Yeah," she said, "I am. I mean, I was there."

"He kissed her in _front _of you?" Charlie demanded.

Ellie shrugged. "Well, it's not like he knew I was there."

Charlie finally realized that she probably felt terrible, and he should stop processing and start helping. "God, Ellie," he said, looking at her sympathetically, "I'm really sorry."

They were cliché words, and at first they made her want to laugh, but they had feelings in them that made her truly appreciate it. "Thanks," she said softly.

"Maybe it's for the best," Charlie offered. "I mean, I know you liked him a lot, but from what I saw of your relationship, he didn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Maybe you'll be happier now that he's not holding you back."

Ellie wanted to believe him, but she didn't think she could. Every time she lost someone, people told her that. Her parents hadn't ever abused her, but they always seemed to be drunk and fighting, and sometimes they said really hurtful things to Ellie. When they died in a drunk driving accident, everyone had been sympathetic, but they'd told her that maybe it was for the best. They said the same thing when her dog got rabies—"Sure, he was sweet, but he was just going to hurt you, anyway." And now that she lost—or was going to lose—Jake, they were still telling her it was for the best.

"I just…" Ellie looked back down at the dirt, noticing that her eyes spent the majority of their time there. "I just wish there was more, you know?"

Charlie nodded but said nothing, probing her to keep talking.

"I know it sounds selfish, but life keeps taking and taking, you know? And every time you think it'll give back, it turns out to take some more. And I know it seems like this could be a good thing, but it'll probably just end badly."

Charlie glanced down at his fingers, which were surrounded in the tape that spelled out the word FATE. "Look," he said, holding up his hand.

"Fate," she read, and nodded. "So?"

"I don't know if fate exists. I keep writing this because I like to believe in things. I used to be religious, and that kind of went down the drain with the whole drug thing, but I still believe in some things. And fate might be one of them."

Ellie shrugged. "Then fate must've hated my pre-incarnation, or something, because it keeps biting me in the ass."

Charlie laughed lightly. "Maybe it does have some kind of weird American grudge on you," he teased. The American-British thing was becoming an inside joke to them at this point. "But this island? I think it defies fate, or something." Ellie gave him a look that was clearly disbelieving, but he shrugged and continued. "I'm serious. And maybe you'll cheat fate when you're here."

"You don't think it's fate that brought us here?" Ellie asked.

Charlie shrugged. "Maybe fate made our plane crash, but not here. And once it got here, everything just started spinning its own way."

Ellie looked more convinced, but not completely.

"Ellie," Charlie said, "don't you get it? We have our own choices on the island. Fate has nothing to do with it. What you do is _your _choice. You have total control over your life now."

She glanced at her nails, which were chipped and broken from all the tuning she'd done without bothering to use a pick. "That _is _a tempting thought," she admitted, picking a nail distractedly.

Charlie grinned. "I know it is. Listen, do you know John Locke?"

Ellie shrugged. "I saw him on the beach a few times. The old bald dude, right?"

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, that's him. He's a total lunatic, and for some of the things he's done to me, I practically hate him. But you know what? He's smart, and he knows what's going on around him. He told me once that we all get new lives on this island, and I started mine over again. You should, too."

Ellie brought her eyes up again. If that was true, she should start by looking up more often. She was about to say something when there was a knock on the post near the tent.

"Yes?" Charlie called in his thick accent.

"Charlie, I could really use your help," shouted Eko in another thick, but tougher, accent. "Lifting poles."

"I will later," Charlie shouted in an annoyed voice, but Ellie shook her head.

"Charlie, you've already helped me enough," she said with an encouraging smile. "Thank you. But he needs you now."

Charlie smiled. "All right. 'Bye, Ellie."

Ellie smiled back. "'Bye."

**The Hatch**

"Listen to me, Sun, you've got to be really careful now. Any danger or stress you have is dangerous for the baby, okay?"

Kate, from the table near them, was exhausted. She was sick of Jack, even though she couldn't believe it herself. She wasn't sick of being with him, because she could never be sick of being around Jack. She was sure that she liked being around him. She just wasn't sure that he liked _him._

And his obsession with safety and being careful. She knew he was just doing his job as the unofficial leader of the island, but he was pulling it on her, too. He always asked her where she was going and wanted to make sure she didn't go there alone. She knew it was just because he cared about her, but it drove her crazy. She needed time to relax and get a spin on her life again.

Just as she was yearning for a little spice in her life, Sawyer walked in. He always seemed to be the definition of ironic around her.

"Doc's still lecturing her?" he chuckled. "Does it end?"

"Apparently not," Kate agreed, and grinned. "You know he's going to sick one of us with the whole escorting-the-pregnant-lady-to-safety thing, right?"

"Of course," he said with a return grin, but then he stopped smiling and gave her a serious look. "I doubt he'll tell you to go, though."

She turned to face him, confused. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? Doc's had a crush on you for months. Haven't you guys kissed and all that jazz already?"

Kate grinned. "And don't forget that time we got caught in a net," she teased, remembering Sawyer's dirty-term mix-up.

His face smiled, but his eyes didn't. They were still serious. "So," he said in a trying-to-be-casual voice, "do you like him?"

Kate was, she had to admit, surprised. "I don't know," she said quickly. "Why should you care?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked simply.

He wasn't being dirty or cocky, and he wasn't being a scoundrel. If Kate's affirmations about him were right, he was actually being romantic.

**The Beach**

Ellie scanned the beach for Jake, but she decided he was probably already in the forest, looking for her. She sighed and sat down in the sand, her emerald eyes focusing on the waves weaving in and out, coming onto the shore and leaving again for the ocean, never making up their mind. New life or old life? Old times or new? Old cheating boyfriend or new caring pop star? She felt like she mixed in with everything on the island, from the waves to the sand to Charlie and his music.

"Ellie," said an all-too-familiar voice from behind her. She took a deep breath—the time had come. Finally, after all these years, they were going to end it.

"Hey," she replied finally in a shaky voice. She slowly got up and turned to face him.

He didn't say anything, and for a minute she thought maybe she should just break up with him flat. And she would, but not yet. She wanted him to admit what he'd done, and then they'd figure things out from there.

"What?" she asked finally, hoping he'd just tell her already.

"Uh…" He looked at her, looking pained and stressed beyond how he should feel. After all, he had two girls as of now, didn't he? Shouldn't he be feeling pretty good about himself?

But he obviously didn't want to tell her, because he said in a mechanical voice, "I was just telling you that they need some firewood, if you want to help out for tonight."

"_What_?" Ellie spat.

"What?" Jake asked innocently.

"That's not why you came here," she said immediately. He could _not _get off the hook this easily. It was completely unfair that he would cheat, and then he would get to have her break up with him! They both knew that breaking up would be hard, and whoever did it suffered the most. So shouldn't he? She'd gone through enough!

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, his jaw set. "Why did I?"

She shrugged. "You tell me."

"I don't…" He looked like he was honestly trying, but breaking up after five years was a lot harder than expected. "I can't…"

"Be with me?" she finished for him. "C'mon, say it."

"I can't," he explained, and this time she knew he meant he couldn't say it.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't try to sweet talk me now," she said icily. "Not after what I saw you do with the little blondie over there. I must say, I never thought you'd like a blonde." She got out the words easily, and it felt good to say them, but once they were out, she felt like keeling over in pain.

"You—you—_saw _that?" Jake demanded in a scared voice.

"Obviously," she replied with extreme distaste.

"So," Jake said, looking almost happy, "I'm guessing this means you want to break up with me?"

She slowly shook her head, but it didn't mean "no" in answer to her question. "You can't do this, Jake," she said immediately. "You can't cheat and then make _me _break up with _you._"

He shrugged. "I'm not breaking up with you, Elle. I can't. So either you break up with me, or we're staying together."

She took another deep breath. _What you do is your choice. You have total control over your life now. We all have new lives on this island. _"Okay," she said in a bitter voice. "Jake, I think it's way, way past time we end it."

**The Jungle**

Kate looked around, almost wishing there was a boar or something that would be fun…maybe, hopefully, as fun as her being with Sawyer. Why was it that Jack was clearly the better catch, but she had so much more fun being with Sawyer? And why was it that at this point, she had pretty much made her mind and heart agree on the Southern blonde?

"You're Canadian, right?"

Kate felt a smile trickle onto her face. At this point, she really should've been expecting him. "You really seem like you're stalking me," she informed him.

"'Cause if you _are _Canadian, you're giving a bad impression for your people. I'm startin' to think _all_ Canadians sit around and stare off longingly into the distance. 'Cause what other excuse do you have?"

"I don't know, trying to think things out?" she suggested, looking meaningfully at him. She was hoping that his boldness had worn off on her. "Trying to decide between things. You know."

"Yeah, I know." He walked closer to her and kneeled next to her. "Beach or jungle." His sharp blue eyes were boring into hers, and she wondered if this was it. "Night or day. Run or stay." His face was only inches away. "Me or Doc."

A small smile tickled her face again. "Yeah. Things like that," she said softly.

"And what'd you decide?"

Without thinking, without waiting for her heart to yelp and her mind to process, she leaned forward and kissed him.

It was just as passionate and entwined as their first kiss, but the difference was that it was by choice. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands touching his long, stringy blonde hair, and he gently put his hands on the small of her back—still giving her space, but not being too timid.

Finally they both parted for air, resting their foreheads on each other's. Sawyer said after a moment, in a raspy but thankful voice, "Well, Freckles, that was probably my favorite damned decision you ever made."

She hoped he was right. It felt to her too that it was the best decision she'd ever made.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

"How'd it go?" Charlie asked, letting himself into the tent.

Ellie still refused to let herself look down at the sand any more, so her sharp green eyes were fixed on a guitar pick she'd found in her suitcase. Engraved on it were ES+JK, or Ellie Sanders + Jake Keller. It was a birthday present for her that Jake had bought (along with an amp). Now she felt like breaking it into a million pieces, but she couldn't decide. Her fingers were numb from playing without one, and she really needed it.

"Pretty much how you could expect," she said, sticking the pick in her pocket. She'd decide later.

"Did he tell you, or did you tell him you saw?"

Ellie didn't say anything. She liked having a stranger to talk to, but she'd just gone through something painful, and she really didn't feel like talking about it.

"I'm sorry," he said, getting the hint. "It's just that not much goes on in this island." He corrected himself. "I mean, a _lot _goes on, but I'm never a part of it. I mean, I wasn't a part of this either, but I wanted the 'inside scoop,' I guess you would say. Not that you have to give it to me. I was just—"

Ellie laughed lightly at how much he was rambling. "It's okay, Charlie," she said, silencing him gently. "I told him that I saw, and I broke up with him. Now I'm finally free of him." It should've been a good thing, but there was heaviness in her voice when she said it.

Charlie looked like he wanted to ask more, but instead he changed the subject. "So, what do you think of the whole leadership-clique people?"

Ellie lifted an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Charlie shrugged. "You know. Jack, Kate, Locke, Sayid, Sawyer. All those guys who hang out together and decided the island was theirs. You like them?"

She couldn't believe how nice he was being to her. She just wasn't _used _to it. He cared enough to help her with her Jake problems—she'd still be with him if not for Charlie—and now he cared enough to not even ask how his help was to her. Instead he started talking about a clique on an island? She'd had guys flirt with her before, but Charlie was different. He actually seemed to care about her.

Which was why, for reasons she couldn't exactly explain, she leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn't insanely passionate or amazing, but it was enough to make her heart flutter and his pulse drum, and in a few seconds, it was enough to snap them both back into reality.

"Uh," Charlie said, "there's an interesting answer."

Ellie broke her hour-or-so-long decision and let her eyes rest once again on the dirt.

"Ellie, listen," Charlie said, and suddenly Ellie seriously wanted to leave. She didn't think she could handle rejection. Sure, she had probably just done it to try to get Jake out of her head, and she knew Jake deserved better. And she hated herself for putting Charlie in the middle of the mess that was her life. But she genuinely liked him, and she didn't want him to reject her.

But she couldn't bring herself to leave, either. So she raised her eyes again and looked into his sweet, pretty blue eyes.

"I like you," Charlie said.

"But," Ellie said, knowing that this was the next word.

Charlie shook his head. "No but. I like you."

Ellie felt a spark of hope. "That's it?"

He shrugged. "I do like you. It would be nice to know that you liked me, though, and that I wasn't your rebound boy."

She would've never seen him as a rebound boy, ever, in her real life or any other life. He was the real deal for a great boyfriend. But she had abused her chances with him, because in the situation her life was in, he _was _the rebound boy. "I know," she said. "I don't want you to be my rebound boy."

"But am I?" Charlie asked, prying her with his eyes.

She forced herself to keep looking at him, even though it was all she could do not to start crying. Because she knew what she was going to say long before she said it. It was in her nature to do things she shouldn't and to say things she wasn't expected to. So, because of her huge attraction to him, she decided that it wouldn't work. "Probably," she said softly.

He didn't draw back in hurt, but his eyes did. They looked more hollow, more worn, in that single word. "Then I should go," he said sadly, and left.

Why did she have to be this way? Was it Jake? Was it her parents? Was it fate's cruel ways? She had said she would start a new life on this island. _So why couldn't she?_

**Near the Hatch**

"So what does this mean, exactly?" Kate asked. Sawyer's arm was around her shoulder, almost protectively, and it made her feel good, but strange. "Because no offense, but you don't really strike me as the commitment type."

"You want me to be your boyfriend, Freckles?" Sawyer asked fondly.

Kate grinned. "_Can _you be my boyfriend?"

"For you, sure," he said in an actually sweet voice, and he planted a kiss on her forehead. Kate couldn't believe this side of him. If she'd known he would be this great to have, she would've chosen him as her boy weeks ago.

"Uh, I was just wondering," she said slowly, not sure how to pitch her next question.

"Yeah?" he asked, glancing down at her.

"What about…"

"Doc?" Sawyer finished for her. "I know he ain't exactly a soldier on the outside, but he's real tough on the inside," he explained. "I'm sure he'll suck it up."

Kate sighed. "I'll tell him," she insisted.

"You mean I don't get to show off?"

Kate sighed. "Sawyer, he doesn't deserve that, and you know it. You'll rub it in, won't you, like you won some prize?"

Sawyer shrugged. "Me and Jack, it's been a war with us. I can show off a little."

"A war," Kate repeated with a snort. "Sure."

"Well, from where I was standing, it was," he said.

Kate smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, their paces one as they walked together.

**Claire's Tent**

"Claire," Jake said, walking into her tent.

She immediately put Aaron in his cradle and took a step back. "No," she said immediately. "We should really stay away from each other."

"What?" Jake asked in surprise.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Claire mumbled, looking embarrassed. "You're a good guy, Jake. Well, actually, you're _not _a good guy, but you deserve someone. Just…I don't…"

Jake stared at her. This was unexpected.

Claire shook her head and glared up at him. "You had a girlfriend, Jake." Her Australian accent put all the more emphasis on "girlfriend."

"I know," he said, "and it was a stupid thing for me to do. But I really liked you, and now it's over. I swear. We're not together any more. I did it for you."

"You broke up with her?" Claire asked. Unfortunately for Jake, Charlie was walking by the tent on his way to the caves.

Jake nodded.

"Charlie," Claire called, and he turned around. He poked his head in her tent.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Did Jake break up with Ellie?"

Charlie shrugged. "They broke up, yeah," he said. Jake gave him a warning shake of his head, but Charlie ignored it. This guy deserved hell, from Charlie's point of view. "But Jake couldn't do it. He made Ellie do it."

"But why'd she break up with him?" Claire asked in confusion.

Charlie looked angry. "She saw you two kiss, all right? Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to not take part in this excruciatingly annoying fight. I've got nothing to do with it, anyway."

Claire frowned. "I thought you and Ellie were together."

"We just broke up!" Jake argued.

"That didn't stop you from going after her!" Charlie reminded Jake hotly.

"There's a difference, 'cause Ellie would never go out with a junkie like you!" Jake recoiled.

"Ex-junkie," Charlie corrected, "and I'm bloody tired of having it thrown in my face!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have used in the first place!"

Claire let out a very loud, high-pitched groan that shut them both out. "Charlie," she said, "thanks for clearing it up. Jake, please kindly get the hell out of my life. And somebody tell those college students to find a damned rescue plane so we can get off this bloody island!"

They were both completely taken aback. Since when did Claire talk like that? She was supposed to be the pure, angelic mother figure!

Charlie realized with a sinking feeling that he was causing almost as much damage to Claire and Ellie as Jake was.

**The Hatch**

"Afternoon, Doc," Sawyer greeted with a huge smirk.

Jack looked up to see Kate looking quietly down at the ground and Sawyer, looking proud as ever, with his tanned arm draped around her shoulders.

"Hey," Jack said slowly, wondering if what he was seeing meant anything.

"Katie wanted to tell you a few things about our current state of the union," Sawyer said, the smirk not leaving his face.

"Shut up," Kate muttered. She was still thrilled with how her relationship with Sawyer was turning about, but the Jack situation was hard enough without Sawyer rubbing it into his face.

"I was just saying," Sawyer said defensively, his eyes staying proudly on Jack.

"Oh," Jack said faintly. "So you're…" He didn't look like he could get it out.

"Uh, actually, I'd really like to talk to you in private," Kate told him. She couldn't do this with Sawyer here.

"Nah, I'm good," Sawyer said, removing his arm and sitting on a chair nearby.

"That wasn't a question," Jack said.

"Well, mine was an answer," Sawyer said with another killer smirk.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Listen, Jack, things with you are great, and I really don't ever want to stop being your friend…"

"I got it," Jack said. "What's there to be sorry about? Things with us sure weren't working out."

Sawyer grinned. "So the doc talks."

Kate sent him another glare that matched his smirks in attitude and turned back to Jack. "Look, like you said, I'm just not sure about us. And this won't change anything, you know, except eliminating the possibilities of us kissing, of course, but we can still talk to each other…" She found herself rambling. Sawyer stopped her.

"She's gonna try me," he explained, "'cause you weren't too good of a catch."

"Hey, why don't you just let her talk?" Jack demanded.

Kate tried to continue, but her face was on fire, and she felt like she had a migraine headache. She couldn't do this. She needed to talk to him in private, and Sawyer was ruining everything. How could he be so perfect around her and so idiotic around Jack?

"Forget it," she said coldly. "I'm going to go see if Eko needs any help with his church." She turned on her heel and left. She couldn't deal with them any more.

**Claire's Tent**

Claire was ashamed of herself. She had treated both people on both sides with cruelty. First she had stabbed Ellie in the back by kissing her boyfriend, and then she had screamed her head off at Jake, even though all he'd wanted was to be with her. And now she was stuck by herself, thinking over what she had done.

A knock sounded on the post holding up her tent, and she called in an exhausted voice, "Who is it?" Normally her tent would be wide open to enjoy the sun and her friends, but now she wanted shade, and she felt like she didn't has friends to enjoy.

"It's Ellie," Ellie called from the other side.

"Come in," Claire said uncertainly. She felt bad, and she planned on apologizing a thousand times if necessary, but she didn't want to be yelled at right now, if that was what Ellie was planning on doing.

"Hey," Ellie said softly, instantly relaxing the supremely tense Claire. "Look, I just wanted to clear things up."

Claire nodded. "Okay," she said kindly. "Well, just so you know, I feel awful about what happened. I don't know what came over me…if this doesn't freak you out or anything, Jake really reminds me of Aaron's dad. In a good way."

Ellie smiled. "That's great. Look, I really want you to be with him."

"Jake?" Claire asked, stunned. That was a surprise. "You do?"

Ellie nodded. Normal girls wouldn't, but that wasn't her, was it? "Yeah. Look, I don't know what it is about me, and it scares the hell out of me sometimes, but I can do weird things to people. I brought out the really bad side of Jake, but he's not like that. He's a good guy, and he deserves a girl who brings out the good in him. That's you."

"But…he cheated on you. Aren't you mad?"

Ellie shrugged. "I was." She still was, but she decided Claire didn't have to know that. "But I kind of had it coming. Neither of us worked at all at our relationship. It was just kind of there, like a given."

"But then he made you break up with him after cheating on you," Claire reminded her. "That's… well, that's just low."

Ellie laughed. "I know. But after five years, it's hard to break up with someone, and I think after doing what he did, he was too wound up over it to go through breaking up with me, too. It's fine. We're both out of it now, and that's what matters." She had no idea why she was defending Jake. He didn't really deserve Claire, and she wanted him to stay single and lonely forever, but she knew that it really was mostly her doing, anyway, the cheating. Ellie brought out the complete lowest in Jake, and it really wasn't all his fault.

"That really does make me feel loads better," Claire said. "I think I just need time to think all this over. But this is so big of you. You really don't even have any grudges against me? I mean, I knew you were his girlfriend, and I still—"

"Claire, don't worry about it," Ellie said. She _did _have a slight grudge against Claire now, but she couldn't really blame her. When he tried to be, Jake could be like a drug—you needed him, no matter what your obstacles were. "Anyone would've done it. Jake's like that."

Claire smiled. "Thanks, Ellie. You have no idea how much better you've made this day for me."

Ellie smiled and peered at Aaron in his cradle. "He's adorable," Ellie said before leaving.

Claire was touched. She'd heard so much about how unpredictable and reckless Ellie was, and now she seemed like a complete angel—attitude-wise, of course, not appearance-wise. It just went to show that boys knew pretty much nothing.

**The Hatch**

_Sawyer, Jack, and anyone else this may concern:_

_I'm not mad. Sawyer, this doesn't change anything between us, and Jack, please don't worry so much about me. I just needed some time to cool off, because as much as I like both of you, you were driving me completely insane._

_I got some guns from Sawyer's stash (they weren't hard to find, Sawyer—you should really find someplace better to hide them), and they should keep me safe. And I'll stay hidden, okay? I just needed some answers. We can't keep living on this island without answers. And I have a feeling that if the Others want us here, there won't be any rescue, college survivors or none._

_Please don't come after me, okay? That'll probably just increase the chances of my being caught, anyway. I just wanted to be by myself for a while, and I figured, why not help all of us while I was at it? I'll be back in a few days. Don't worry about me._

_Kate_

**END OF CHAPTER FIVE**

Reviews anyone? Pressing the little blue button makes me happier, and when I'm happier, I update sooner! Oh yeah, from now on, I'm going to do review responses, so if you review, look for a response here!

**astronomylover:** I was worried people wouldn't like the Ellie-Charlie match because of Charlie and Claire, but it doesn't seem to bug people that much. And here's Kate's decision, hope you like! By the way, thanks for your reviews—they're really encouraging. Don't stop now!

**Jami: **All three of those questions will be answered soon…ish. (I feel like a psychic…-twilight zone music-) Thanks!

**steam rolled harry potter: **Heh, thanks. I'm not sure if I'm going to, but either way, that was sweet.

KISSBANGX3

**/press review button/** (I know, I'm desperate.)


	6. Brawl

YAY for me, I'm on a roll! Here's the next chapter (after the disclaimer), enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. But boy would I be rich if I did. Oh, and I used some of Joan Jett's _I Hate Myself For Loving You, _which I also don't own, between some paragraphs.

**HERE IS A CLEAR-UP IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SECOND SEASON AND WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH KATE: **In the middle of the second season, Rousseau (the French chick) showed Sayid a trap with a man inside it who said his name was Henry Gale. They thought he might be an Other and captured him and brought him back to the hatch. They found out he was an imposter and an Other, but near the end, Michael freed him to get his son Walt back. In the season 2 finale, we found out that that imposter guy is probably the Others' leader. Hope that helps.

Chapter Six: Brawl

**The Hatch**

Three days.

Three long, hectic, eventful days had passed since the _Expedition _had crashed, and still there was no rescue.

Additionally, it had been one long and suspenseful night since Kate left—which, for Sawyer, was one night too many. He couldn't stop beating himself up about it. Contrary to what he'd told Jack the day before, he knew it was all his fault. He had finally had her. He'd had the girl of his dreams, and a second later, he blew it.

No, he reminded himself, that wasn't true. She'd said in the letter that it didn't change anything between them. That meant they were still together. She'd written that she just needed "time to cool off." Why was it that girls always needed time to cool off? Couldn't they just stay hot?

"Sawyer."

Sawyer didn't bother to look up—he could recognize Jack's voice anytime, anywhere by now. Their relationship had had some major setbacks, but they'd spent a lot of time together since the crash. Sawyer could still remember a few days after the Ana Lucia/Libby incident. He'd told Jack about everything.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jack had asked him.

Sawyer's response had stunned both of them: "You're the closest thing I've got to a friend on this island."

Boy, were those days over, Sawyer mused. He had spent more time with Kate since then, and Jack had become the competition. The day Sawyer became Kate's "boyfriend," he _had _to tell Jack. He didn't win much in life, and rubbing it in Jack's face would be like a gold medal.

"Hey," Sawyer finally replied to Jack, too exhausted to call him Doc again.

"She's not back yet," Jack growled, referring to Kate, making it completely obvious that he thought it was Sawyer's fault.

"Believe me, I noticed," Sawyer replied grimly. He started pacing back and forth, looking at the records. He wasn't really a music-loving man, maybe a little Nirvana here and there, but he'd do anything that would distract him from thinking about Kate.

"Why do you spend so much time in the hatch?" Jack asked, changing the subject. "I don't see you as a record-player guy or a computer guy."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "You wanna buy this place?" he asked. "'Cause if it's yours, _then _I'll consider leaving."

"It was just a question," Jack said exasperatedly.

Sawyer's electric blue eyes were clouded over with sadness. "I spend so much time here because Kate does."

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

_Midnight gettin' uptight, where are you?_

_You said you'd meet me, now it's quarter to two_

_I know I'm hangin' but I'm still wantin' you_

Ellie was lying flat on her back, staring up at the top of their large tent, soaking in Joan Jett's rich lyrics. She'd always thought she had a lot in common with her role model, besides the fact that Joan had an amazing voice and Ellie didn't. Still, especially in her current situation, she felt just like Joan Jett. Whoever the rock star was singing about was a whole lot like Jake. Joan kept going back to him, kept loving him, even though she hated it.

Why had she stuck up for Jake after everything he'd done? Sure, he'd been under whatever weird spell Ellie cast on him (metaphorically, of course), but that didn't mean he hadn't been an awful person. He could've pulled out of it. He never should've cheated.

_Hey Jack, it's a fact, they're talkin' in town_

_I turn my back and you're messin' around_

_I'm not really jealous, don't like lookin' like a clown_

Story of her pathetic life. Even the name, Jack, was pretty similar to Jake. And she let herself have fun for one second—she played _one _song on her guitar with Charlie—and he had to start kissing Claire. She didn't like being jealous, because people thought badly of her already, but she knew that deep down she was.

She felt a poke on her leg, and she hit the PAUSE button. She yanked off her headphones and sat up to see Jenny, her cute, stringy brown hair in pigtails. She looked sixteen, not twenty-four, but Ellie didn't mind. Jenny was probably the most positive creature in her life right now.

"Hey, Ellie," Jenny said cheerfully.

"Hey," Ellie replied. She was annoyed that Jenny had interrupted her time with her music, but she was grateful that she had something to do that didn't involve wallowing in self-pity or whatever it was that was making her miserable.

"Listen, I know the last couple days have sucked for all of us, especially you," Jenny said kindly, "but Jake wanted to talk to you. I can tell him to go away, if you want."

_I think of you ev'ry night and day_

_You took my heart, then you took my pride away_

"No, it's okay," Ellie said tiredly. She couldn't escape him, so she figured she should just deal with him. He couldn't make her any worse now, could he?

She got up, brushed the sand and dirt off her legs and her hair, and left the tent. Jake was waiting outside the zipper-up entrance. He looked happy to see her, which pained her even more. He was never happy to see her when they were together. What was he doing to her?

"Listen, I don't want to make things harder for you," Jake said civilly.

Ellie snorted, but said nothing.

"I just came to thank you," he explained. "I don't know why you smoothed things over with Claire, but it really helped. You're a really good person to do something like that."

Ellie stared coldly at him. "Claire deserves to be happy," she said flatly.

"Elle, don't be like that," he said in an almost flirtatious voice.

She slowly shook her head. "_You _don't be like _that,_" she ordered in a firm voice. He started to say something, but she interrupted him. "You're welcome, okay?" she asked, and left. She knew that if she talked to him much longer, she'd probably do something she'd seriously regret. Why was being free so hard?

_I hate myself for loving you_

_Can't break free from the things that you do_

_I wanna walk, but I run back to you—that's why_

_I hate myself for loving you_

**Deep in the Jungle**

Kate's heart was pounding a million miles per hour inside her chest. She knew it was immature for her to leave like that, and she knew she should've stayed and sorted things about. But she really did need time away from anyone else, and she decided she could do that best while helping them from afar.

She was heading back to the place Michael had described, but she wasn't really sure where she was going. She just hoped she'd get somewhere, and soon, because she didn't have enough food for more than a few days. And if anything happened to her, she didn't want to be too far away from the 815ers and the college students. She'd have to tell them whatever she learned, no matter what happened to her. They needed to know what was keeping them on the island.

She darted from tree to tree until finally she found a camp. It wasn't an amazing camp, but it was still better than they were doing back on the beach and in the caves. She scanned it for anyone who looked understanding, even a little bit, but the only people she saw outside were guards with hard, robotic faces. She didn't want to talk to them.

What about Alex? Rousseau, the "French Chick," had told Kate about her daughter, and Claire had insisted that there was a girl Alex's age and status that had helped free her from the lab she was in. If there was anyone in this place that Kate could count on, it was someone who helped Claire.

Kate glanced around her feet. Luckily it was dirt and not leaves, so she doubted anyone would be able to hear her. She slowly crept behind their buildings, being sure not to be seen, wondering what she was going to do. She had hope in Alex, but with all the buildings and no one outside, how could she?

But it turned out she didn't have to find Alex, because Alex found her.

**The Beach**

"Where do you get off?" Charlie asked as soon as Jake left Ellie's tent. Charlie was still hurt by the ruined kiss he had shared with Ellie—if there was one good thing Jake had done for Ellie, Charlie had noticed, it was that he had made her a really good kisser—but he was still furious at Jake. How could he keep going back to Ellie, ruining her progress in getting over him? It was maddening.

"Uh, this island, hopefully," Jake said with a teasing grin.

"Would you stop with the sodding jokes?" Charlie demanded. "This is a normal girl you're torturing, I'll have you know."

Jake rolled his eyes. "I'm getting really sick of your butting into my business," he said. "You don't know me, Ellie, or anyone else from the _Expedition,_ so why do you keep prying?"

"I care about a girl whose feelings are constantly being yanked around by her ex-boyfriend, who claims to like someone else!" he spat.

"Charlie, Ellie doesn't want to be with you," Jake said cruelly. "How many times has she rejected you yet? And Claire? Yeah, I don't think she really cares about you, either. If you were trying to score big, there's Kate, but she's gone, and before that, she hooked up with Sawyer. So why don't you just stay by your lonesome and get lost?"

Charlie glared at him and turned away. True, Claire had moved on to "bigger and better" things, if that was what she really considered Jake. And Kate had Sawyer, not that Charlie had actually wanted anything serious to happen with her. But Ellie was in a fragile state, and he didn't believe that she really wanted to block him out of her life yet.

He headed to the college students' tent, hoping Ellie would've calmed down a little. He didn't want to pressure her, but he didn't want her to be alone right now.

When the knock sounded on the post, Ellie really wasn't sure if she had the energy to face anyone else. Except possibly Charlie, but she doubted he would want to talk to her at this point. After the way she'd treated him, how could he?

Why did she keep pushing away the few people she cared about? She'd never treated Allison, her sister, with any decency, and before the island, she'd treated Jenny and Andrew pretty terribly, too. Now she was treating Charlie terribly.

The knock sounded again. "Ellie, I just want to talk," said the all-too-familiar British voice.

Ellie sighed. He probably thought she was PMSing on him about every minute of every day. She felt terrible about it, but it was so hard for her to make up her mind about anything at this point.

She got up and opened the flap for him. He smiled gratefully and stepped inside.

"I'm surprised you keep coming back here," Ellie said, sitting down on one of the fold-up chairs. "Aren't you sick of me yet?"

Charlie laughed. "I'm way more sick of everyone else on this island."

Ellie was touched. "But you do realize that every time you come here, I end up kicking you out, right?" she reminded him.

"Not every time," he corrected with a grin. After a pause, he said, "So what's it gonna be this time?"

Ellie shrugged. "I guess we'll see."

**The Others' Camp**

"What are you doing here?" Alex demanded.

Kate smiled when she saw her. She instantly felt relaxed, almost like there was a familiar face, even though she'd never met Alex before. "I came to find some answers," Kate said.

Alex shook her head. "No. No, Kate, you can't be here."

"If you don't help me," Kate said in a determined voice, "I'll just ask one of the guards. But I was really hoping you'd help me, because they don't look like the nicest people."

Alex sighed. "If they find out…"

Kate shrugged. "So take me to them. The nice ones, anyway. Look, I'm not that scared. I'll turn in my guns, and what's the worst that could happen? They don't need me as a hostage, and I don't think they care if I'm dead or alive."

Alex considered this and nodded. "I'll take you to our leader," she said, "but be careful."

She led her slowly out into the open. The guards immediately raised their guns, but because Alex was with Kate, they didn't fire.

A few minutes later, Kate was stunned to see the imposter Henry Gale sitting in the chair.

(A/N: Sorry to interrupt, but the timing of this story isn't very clear. It's pretty much at the end of the second season, but before the season finale mess.)

"You?" she asked in disbelief.

"That's a great way to suck up to me, really," he said with a small smile.

Kate felt her face turn red. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Put down your weapons," he ordered.

"I will," Kate said, "but I'd appreciate it if I could take them back when I leave. In case the monster comes."

"Guns won't help you with a monster," Henry said as a few guards took her guns, "but we'll consider it after you say what it is you want to say."

"Look, we could be totally wrong, but we have a few ideas about why we're here, and we're pretty sure you know more than us," Kate said as boldly as she could. Henry said nothing; she continued. "I know there's no reason that you should answer our questions, but we figured that, as long as we're on your island, we should at least know what's going on."

"What do you think you know?" Henry asked.

Kate shrugged. "We think you had some contact with a psychic in Sydney," she said. "We think that either you or the island wanted the survivors of flight 815 to survive, and you wanted those who didn't survive to die. We also think you didn't want the _Expedition _to crash, but since it did, you let the college students live for…" She shrugged. "Entertainment? Security? I don't know."

"Why should I help you?" Henry asked.

"Do you want to get off the island?" Kate asked, ignoring his question.

He shook his head. "No. We despise the outside world."

_That _was unexpected. "Oh," she said. "Well, we want to get off. If we do get off, you'll have the island to yourselves."

"No, the island will be found, and they'll start analyzing it and living on it," he corrected.

Kate gulped. "We need to get off," she said in a strained voice. "This isn't the life we were meant to live."

"If there's one thing I can tell you, it's that the island defies fate," Henry told her.

"Okay," she said, "but that doesn't mean we don't want to get back to the real world." Kate shrugged. "I could handle a little fate if it meant off the island."

"We'll answer your questions," Henry said, "because we're sick of you coming after us. But we're not getting you off the island."

Kate nodded. "Okay. Thank you. So why are you here?"

"We _came _here," he said. "Voluntarily. To get away from the real world. We have a few psychics among us, and we used them to communicate with—" He frowned.

"Keep going," Kate urged.

"I don't have to do this," he said, shaking his head. "I shouldn't. Get out of here, before—"

"If we're not going to get off the island," she interrupted, "then what's the harm? Besides, don't you want to just coexist with us? It'll save you time and energy."

He took a deep breath. "But after the imprisonment…after everything you did to me…"

"_I _didn't," Kate said quickly. "Look, I apologize on behalf of Jack and Locke, but they were scared, and they wanted anything that meant off the island. You can understand, right?"

"Maybe, but…"

Kate shook her head. "Please. You got us here. You did so much to us. Shouldn't we at least be able to know what's going on?"

Finally he seemed to give in. Kate sensed that something was wrong, but she was too eager to learn the truth to care. "Our psychics communicated with the one in Sydney," he finally said, "and he got the survivors to get on the plane. The rest were random passengers—we didn't care about them. They were going to die. The psychics foresaw the seating and places, where people would die, and set up the seating of the survivors based on that."

"But why did you want us?" Kate asked. "We haven't done anything for you."

Henry looked ashamed. "Some of us were becoming insane," he said softly.

Kate felt a vein on the side of her head pulsing. Didn't that mean she was dangerously mad? She couldn't remember. "So you brought us here to prevent you from delusions, or something?"

"We're not terrible people," Henry said quickly. "We…we needed to survive. We needed to see new hope, new faces, people who weren't insane from just seeing each other for all these years. You were our only way to survive."

"And the college students?" Kate asked. "They were just to make sure you weren't found?"

Henry nodded. "One of our psychics got Desmond to be late pushing the button, which was what caused your plane to crash, and when your boat crashed, we pressed an alternative code that increased the magnetic field only a small bit. But since you were already landing, all it did was bring your land to a crash."

"But the monster, and all the mysteries of the island?"

"The monster isn't as bad as you all think," Henry said. "He's just a blast of wind mixed with flecks of pepper, which materialized it when the psychic focused on something solid. It feeds on fear because it was a feature one of our psychics installed."

"It _is _bad!" Kate argued. "It killed our pilot!"

Henry shrugged. "He wasn't supposed to live. The security device took care of that."

"But what about Rose's cancer?" Kate asked. "She told me the island cured her."

"The island has sort of a fountain-of-health effect," Henry said. "It's quite unexplainable, actually. It may have to do with the amount of psychic power on the island—your side's little boy Walt has some of it, too, by the way—mixed with your side's good intentions that purifies illnesses, or perhaps it's just a feature of the island. I don't know."

Kate couldn't believe it. All her questions were just…answered. Could it really be that simple?

"But I can't let you go back to your camp now," Henry said with a pitying look. "Coming here was a bad idea, Kate, because we can't let you go back."

Kate's heart started to thump again.

"Sir," Alex said, "I don't think—"

"Guards," Henry interrupted, "stun her. Keep her alive. Take her to our jail."

**Claire's Tent**

"I don't want things to be awkward between us now," Jake said, walking into Claire's tent.

"Then why don't we just take it slowly?" Claire suggested. "I mean, I've known you three days, and you've already kissed me, broken up with your ex, and then tried to get together with me. I appreciate that you have good intentions, if Ellie's right, but this is really fast."

Jake nodded. "I know it is. It's just that I don't know if we'll be here forever or until tomorrow, and if it's tomorrow, I don't want you to be a spot in the back of my mind for the rest of my life."

Claire gave him a light smile. "I think that's everyone's problem," she said with a shake of her head. "On this island, I mean. We rush everything, because we always hope that today's our last day on this island, when we're really almost certain that it's not."

He sighed. "You're right. We probably have all the time in the world."

"So," Claire said, "we should take it slow. Let's just talk, like normal people."

And it was easy for them, because they _were_ normal people. Ellie and Charlie, on the other hadn't, weren't having such an easy time.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

"This is weird, right?" Ellie asked after what felt like hours of talking. "I mean, two days ago we didn't know each other, and now I know you better than I've known anyone else in my entire life."

Charlie looked surprised. "That's…weird. I mean, I feel like I know you a lot better now, too, but not _that _well. You never had any close friends or a real boyfriend before Jake?"

Ellie shook her head. "Nah. I freak girls out, in case you didn't notice, and I've never been much of a guy-chaser. It was just Jake."

Charlie looked uncomfortable about his next question. "And your parents?" he asked timidly.

She blinked. "Never knew them very well," she finally settled on saying.

"I'm sorry," he said. It was the boring, normal thing to say, but he didn't know what else there was to say. He never felt very eloquent around her.

Ellie shrugged. "Don't be," she said. "I didn't have one of those, you know, depressing foster home lives. My sister raised me, and she's great."

Charlie smiled. "I'm glad," he said honestly. Ellie deserved at least something.

Ellie didn't mention the fact that Allison had spent some of Ellie's childhood and all of her teenage years partying. Allison had actually inspired Ellie to drink, instead of protect her from it. But once Ellie went to college, they needed money, and Allison had really pulled through. She'd become a real estate agent for a steady company, and she'd sobered up and become a great role model.

"So, if we were to be rescued, where would we go from here?" Ellie asked.

"You mean me and you respectively, or everyone on the island?"

"Respectively," Ellie said with a shrug. She wasn't in the mood to be nervous about talking about things like this. "I mean, don't take that the wrong way," she added quickly. "I just meant, are you going back on tour, or anything?"

Charlie shrugged. "I'd expected to, but now that I'm off the drugs, I realized that that life pretty much killed me," he explained. "Maybe I'll start a new band, though, and we'll be clean the whole time."

Ellie laughed. "What'll you do to ensure it, sing all Christian songs and adopt country-lovin'?"

Charlie laughed, too. "Never," he assured her. "But maybe you could join. I bet having a girl in a rock band with a guy singing would be a bonus change."

"It worked for the White Stripes," she agreed with a grin, not fully taking in his suggestion.

"You'd keep me off drugs," Charlie said. "You'd be good to have."

Suddenly it hit her. "Whoa. Are you serious? I thought we were joking around!"

Charlie looked a little panic-stricken. "It was just an idea," he said quickly. "I mean, if you're busy, if you have a life you want to get back to…"

She relaxed, shaking her head. "No. That's not what I meant. Being in a band with you would be awesome. I was just surprised that you were serious. Things really happen fast on this island," she said, exhaling slowly.

He nodded. "Yeah, and sorry if I scared you. I just thought _You All Everybody _sounded tons better."

"Yeah, well, that's because your loony brother wasn't there to screw you up," she joked, faking a British accent yet again on "loony brother." "No offense," she added, hoping he wouldn't be mad at her stab at Liam.

He laughed. "None taken. But Liam's long since retired from the music industry, anyway."

She suddenly felt like she was practically taking Liam's place in Driveshaft. Was this really possible? She kept waiting for herself to wake up from this long dream. She'd broken up with Jake, she was having long conversations and sensitive kisses with Charlie Pace, she was deserted on a tropical island near Antarctica, and she was going to be in the next generation of Driveshaft when they were rescued? Was this all really possible?

She remembered something Allison had once told her: "If you think you're in a dream, don't pinch yourself. Kiss the guy you're looking at." Ellie had already kissed him, and she hadn't woken up from any dream, but she couldn't stop herself. It wasn't about rebound, and it wasn't about spiting people. It was about her fondness for Charlie Pace and the fact that she wanted to kiss him.

So, for the second time in two days, she did. But this one was a little more…what was the word she was looking for? It wasn't passionate or intimate, exactly, but it definitely wasn't lifeless or dull. She decided that this kiss was…fun. And it was different for Ellie to voluntarily have fun.

**Claire's Tent**

It had been about twenty minutes since Claire and Jake had started talking, and the conversation had spun around to talking about Kate, Sawyer, and Jack.

"Wait," Claire said. "So Kate just left?"

Jake nodded. "Jack says she did that a lot in her old life, so he wasn't too surprised. She said she went to talk to the Others, to find answers, and they don't want to follow her, because they're scared they'll get her in trouble."

Claire frowned. "Well, I hope she's safe, but I admit I'm kind of glad she went. Imagine how much better it would be if we knew who the Others were and why we were here."

Jake nodded again. "You're right. She might be back yet. Do you want to get Jack or Sawyer and ask him about it?"

Claire nodded. "They're probably somewhere on the beach. We can look together."

He nodded and started to leave, then stopped. "See?" he asked with a grin before he left. "We can be friends and still have fun."

Claire gave him a small smile. "We can," she agreed, and left.

But Jake's feelings changed when he passed the college students' tent. The flap was just a little open, and having a curious side, he had of course looked in. But when he saw Ellie and Charlie practically on top of each other making out, he felt his fists clench and his body seethe.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

They'd been making out for what felt like hours, could have been seconds, and in reality was minutes. They were both breathing heavily, and they both slightly wanted to stop—Charlie because he had a sharp feeling that he was still her rebound guy, and Ellie because she didn't want to wind herself into another complicated relationship with a guy who might just end up hurting her again.

But it just felt so great to them to kiss each other. Charlie hadn't kissed someone who actually likedhim—or, at least, his band—in ages, and Ellie had neverkissed someone who liked her in any way except physically. So while they felt a need so stop, they felt a greater need to keep going. They weren't going to go any further, but they didn't see the harm in some lip lock.

They were both breathing heavily when Jake stormed in. Ellie felt herself pull back—there was still a string, she knew, where she still felt like she couldn't be with Charlie because of what Jake felt. But when she remembered her situation, she let herself go closer to Charlie and further away from Jake.

"What," Jake demanded, "is your _problem_? Can't you stop bugging me for five seconds?"

Ellie wondered where Claire was. Didn't they spend all their time together? She noticed with a sinking heart that poor Claire was outside, hearing every word. Jake knew that, and he still bugged Charlie. What was wrong with him? Claire didn't deserve this!

"I wasn't bugging you," Charlie said with a shrug. "In fact, I don't think Ellie had anything to do with you any more, and I know you like Claire now. So if you want your ex to be happy, I was helping you."

Ellie felt a tickle of laughter in her throat, but she held it down.

"Yeah, in a perfect world, you're helping me. But here you're not, and I want you off Ellie!"

Ellie snorted. "Uh, Jake? He is."

"I mean," Jake snarled, "permanently."

"Jake," Claire said, coming into the tent, "let's go."

Jake shook his head. "No, Claire, this guy's a terrible influence on Ellie, and he doesn't deserve her, anyway. And he's just doing it to push my buttons…"

"Stop being paranoid," Charlie said. "It has nothing to do with you."

"It _doesn't,_" Claire agreed forcefully. "And he's not a bad influence on Ellie. Charlie will take care of her, okay?" She said it from experience, but not with regret. "Can't we just go?"

But he didn't move.

"Who do you want, Jake?" Charlie demanded. "Claire or Ellie? Because you're making them both pretty bloody pissed off at you right about now."

"Yeah, you're pissing me off, too," Jake snarled, and before anyone could stop him, he rammed into Charlie hard, almost knocking him onto the ground.

Ellie grabbed Charlie at the last second and pushed Jake out of the tent. It wasn't easy—Jake was very, very unwilling to leave—but he was finally on the beach.

"Knock it off!" Ellie shouted at him, but Charlie had come outside, and that was reason enough for Jake to do it again. He balled up a fist and knocked it onto Charlie's cheek, his high school graduation ring causing Charlie to bleed.

"Jake!" Ellie practically screamed, and she slapped him hard across the cheek. "Snap out of it!"

That didn't stop him. He aimed another fist at Charlie, but Charlie dodged it and ended up kneeing him in the chest. Jake drew back in pain and Charlie put in a punch below the shoulder. This was obviously too much for Jake, who just came in for another punch.

"Sayid!" Ellie shouted, because he was the best person she could think of to stop them. "Don't join the fight unless they're killing each other. They'll just punch you. Try to talk them out of it with me." She turned to Claire, who was pale as a ghost. "Claire, go get Jack. And Sawyer, if he's there. They should both be in the hatch. Hurry!"

Claire nodded and ran out of the dangerous area.

"Jake, Charlie, think about this for a second," Sayid said, dodging one of Charlie's furious punches aimed for Jake. "If rescue comes, which Kate may achieve, you two will both have to serve time, and one of you may file a lawsuit."

No one seemed to care.

Ellie walked up to Charlie, jumped back so she wouldn't be kicked by a kick that ended up just missing Charlie's waist by an inch or so, and returned. "Charlie," she said in a tired voice, "stop it! He's not worth it! You're going to ruin everything if you keep this up!"

"I'm sorry," Charlie said quietly, ducking from a punch, "but if I don't fight back, you know I'm never going to win this." Jake got a bunch in Charlie's chest, and me moaned in pain, but he got him back with a kick strait in Jake's "sensitive area." "And if I don't win this, he'll just keep bugging me—and us—about our relationship."

"That's fine!" Ellie insisted as Sayid began talking to Jake. "I don't care! Talking is better than fighting!"

Jake seemed to be _really _mad now, and he fought at about twice the speed. Charlie avoided most of his hits, but he talked slower and took more breaths. "This—is the only way—we're ever going to be together," he said shortly.

Ellie wasn't sure how she felt about this, but she was touched. "You want to be with me?" she asked with a smile that was erased when Jake's punch grazed her shoulder.

Charlie didn't say anything for a while, and finally he said, "I don't want there to be—no chance of—us ever being together," he explained, and Ellie had to remind herself that she was supposed to be stopping a fight, not starting a relationship. Well, they'd already started it, but still.

"Doesn't matter," she said, shaking her thoughts away. "You've got to stop it. Now. This isn't impressive. This is maddening."

"Sorry," Charlie said, "but if I stop now, chances are, he'll kill me." He got another kick in, this time above Jake's knee.

Finally Jack and Sawyer strode up to them. Well, Sawyer strode. Jack was running over to them. Sawyer grabbed Charlie and Jack grabbed Jake. Charlie calmed down, but Jake was in no mood to end a fight yet. He rammed his fist into the side of Jack's face and darted back over to Charlie, shoving Sawyer out of the way and aiming a punch for Charlie.

Jack yanked Jake back, but Jake just turned and hit him again. Jack looked angry, but he still didn't fight. Sawyer, on the other hand, sent a powerful punch into Jake's gut, causing him to fall.

"What's the matter with you?" Jack demanded. "You can't fight them!"

"I can fight," Sawyer said with distaste, "whoever the hell I want to." And he punched Jack.

Ellie groaned and walked over to Claire. "How are we supposed to stop this?" she demanded. Claire, who was practically in tears, shrugged, helplessly watching the four of them develop into a four-man brawl.

Finally Ellie couldn't take it anymore. "Sayid, get Jack—he won't hurt you. Claire, get Jake—same—but you'll have to be forceful. I'll get Charlie, and hopefully Sawyer will get the picture."

Ellie went in first, tearing Charlie away from Jake. Jake grabbed Charlie's arm to keep him where he wanted him, but Ellie groaned and punched Jake hard in the elbow, causing it to bend, and Jake was forced to let go. Ellie pulled Charlie far away from the brawl, and she could tell he was permanently free of it.

Charlie looked sorry, but the fierceness in his eyes was still obvious. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and she knew it was true. But she was in no mood to deal with it right now, so she just watched the other three and crossed her fingers.

Sayid was strong enough to get Jack away from Sawyer and Jake without being hurt or hurting anyone, and soon Jack was opposite Charlie, practically across the whole beach. Claire grabbed Jake's arm and was obviously talking to him in a forceful voice. Jake's chest was heaving and he looked furious, but she was able to pull him away. Sawyer's chest (his shirt had been torn in the brawl) was also heaving, as well as gleaming with sweat, and he gave the crowd a look that clearly said "come if you want to be killed." But it was over, and despite how much harder things on the island would be over the next few days, everyone was relieved.

**The Others' Main Room**

Kate had no intentions whatsoever of having all those answered questions go to waste. She was going to get back to her friends and tell them everything. That had been her plan all along, of course, and she wasn't going to let a few guards stop her.

They were in the corners of the room, and they ran to her, but she was faster. She grabbed the knife that was strapped to the bottom of her shoe and ran to the front of the room, where Henry Gale (or the imposter of him) was sitting. The guards were running after her, but they had bulletproof vests of some kind on, and it was harder for them to run than it was for her to. She reached Henry and pointed her knife at his neck.

"Put your guns down," she said in a fierce voice. She was going to fulfill her promise to Sawyer. She was going to come back unharmed.

They started to, but Henry said, "Don't bother. She won't kill me. She wants answers."

Kate snorted. "If I were you," she said to the guards, "I _would _bother. Because your intelligent leader over here already told me everything I wanted to know." She smirked as they set their guns down. "If anyone tries anything," she said, "the dagger goes straight into his neck. I won't regret it. You'll kill me, sure, but I'm not that valuable to my people, and you'll have lost your most valuable person. Is it worth it?"

The guards stood still. Henry said nothing.

"Okay, give me my guns back," Kate ordered. "And don't you dare aim them at me. They're gonna be facing you."

One of the guards walked slowly up to her, her guns facing him, and she snatched them from him. He walked back to the others shakily.

"Okay, now without picking up any weapons, are there any handcuffs in this room?"

"They're in a different building," Henry tried.

"Doubtful," Kate said, "since this is the room where you'd probably have the most prisoners. Now someone get me some handcuffs, or he dies." One of the guards retrieved a pair of handcuffs.

Keeping one hand on the knife clutched at Henry's throat, Kate carefully worked the handcuffs with the other. She managed to hold the key in her mouth while fastening the metal around his wrists. "Now," she said, "you guys are going to let us both go, and if we keep him hostage, so what? At least your precious leader won't be dead."

_This _was Kate's wild side. And for the first time since the plane crashed, it had been released.

**END OF CHAPTER SIX**

Nice, long chapter. It was coming up on 10 pages in size 10 font on my computer. Doesn't that deserve a bunch of nice, pretty reviews from my nice, pretty reviewers? So push the button!

Yes, that one. Down there. You rule if you push it. You'll be, uh, radical! Yeah. Radical. Anyway, here are review responses:

**Jami: **Thanks! You'll find out soon!

**Stroppy-Teenager: **Yeah, the Charlie-Claire thing is happening in America, too, and I'm glad, because they're a great couple on the show. But I got really sick of those characters and I wanted to add some new ones, and I thought Charlie could use someone more like him. Claire just seems too…mm, pure, I guess, and with the drugs and grunge band and stuff, Charlie seems the opposite of that. And sure, opposites attract, but they always seem to be fighting. And I get what you're saying, but Ellie and Jake just graduated, so they're 21-22, and that's only a few years away from Charlie & Claire… oh well. And thanks for the support! (phew that was long.)

**steam rolled harry potter: **That's really weird…(feels confused) I have no idea what I was talking about… oh well, I guess. Thanks for the reviews anyway!

**astronomylover: **Aw, thank you! And as you can see, Kate's not doing too terribly bad on her own. Your reviews make me very happy. D

-kissbangx3-

Review please!


	7. Others

Thanks for the reviews, everyone, they keep me happy! And I hope this chapter will keep you happy! (Sorry it took a day longer than usual, but I'm on swim team, and I stay late at the pool.)

Disclaimer: No, for the seventh time, I don't own Lost. Sheesh.

Chapter Seven: Others

**The Others' Main Room**

"If anyone follows me," Kate ordered in a firm voice as she yanked Henry to the doorway, "he dies. Okay? None of us have any problems with killing him. He's told us everything we need to know."

"How do we know you won't kill him anyway?" demanded someone who Kate assumed was a vice president or second-in-command.

Kate's eyes turned cold. "Because we're not _like _you people," she said. "We don't kill unless we absolutely have to."

"That didn't stop your little Ana Lucia," one of the guards reminded her, in reference to when Ana Lucia killed an Other. "Or any of your tail-surviving friends, for that matter."

"Well then," Kate said bitterly, "you should be glad. They certainly got what they deserved, didn't they?"

There was no response, and Kate didn't want one. Instead she yanked Henry out, knife to his throat and gun to his head, and led him out of the camp.

Alex stopped her when she was outside. "Kate," she said, "please don't do this."

Kate sighed. "Listen to me, Alex. You don't have to help them. Your mother—we know her. She loves you so much. You're the reason she stays alive in this place. She'd give anything to get you back."

"I appreciate that," Alex said, "but it means very little to me. I've never known my mother. I'm not saying it's her fault, but I haven't, so I'm not that desperate to now."

Kate shook her head. "They're bad people," she said, meaning the Others. "You could have a good life."

"I'm sorry," Alex said softly. "I don't think that what we do to you is right. But they raised me with care, and my loyalty lies with them."

Kate took a deep breath and left the camp. She left it all behind. It had only been a day, but it felt like an eternity.

**The Hatch**

Sawyer, Jake, and Charlie were all sitting very exhaustedly in various areas around the hatch, glowering at each other but too tired to make any moves. Jack was going back and forth from one to the next, trying to get them all healed, when all he really wanted to do was let them rot. Why should he heal them when they had just tried to attack him?

Charlie was first. Jack tried to stay calm, because he knew that out of his three patients, Charlie was the most innocent. "You remember what it was like to get stitches before, right?"

Charlie sighed. "Yes, I remember. It was just dandy, really."

Jack shrugged. "Sorry, but it's all I can do." He dabbed some alcohol around the bleeding streak that Jake's high school ring had caused and began stitching. "All your other wounds are just bruises, but they're deep. We've got some bandages we can wrap around you to try to get them to heal, but mostly I just need you to be careful, okay? Just walk if you have to move, but mostly it's best if you stay sitting down. Practicing your guitar would be fine."

Charlie wondered if Ellie would still be in the mood to play with him. Probably not. She definitely wasn't the kind of girl who would be excited about the prospect of two guys fighting because of her.

"Thanks," he finally said. "I'm sorry we brought you into the fight."

Jack nodded. "I am, too," he said.

Charlie didn't mention the fact that he found it completely annoying when people said "me too" or "I'm sorry, too" after someone apologized. Instead he nodded and smiled as Jack left to take care of Jake.

Jake's wounds were almost all bruises, besides the deep imprint one of Charlie's armbands had left on his neck, which Jack applied ointment to. Finally Jack reached Sawyer.

"I don't have to do this," Jack said, "if you don't want me to."

"If I'm gonna die, Doc, it would be nice to have you fix me," Sawyer said bitterly. He hated relying on Jack for medical help. "Otherwise I'll manage."

Jack nodded. "You'll survive," he assured Sawyer. "Just don't bang yourself up any more than you already have."

"'Scuse me, Doc, but I think it was _you _who banged me up," Sawyer snarled.

A grin played at Jack's lips that made Sawyer fume, but neither said anything. Jack left to take a shower, and the three hopeless cases were left sprawled around the hatch.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

"Hey," Claire greeted Ellie with a tired smile. Aaron was in her arms, but that probably wasn't the only reason Claire was tired.

Ellie looked up from her guitar politely. "Hi, Claire," she said, keeping her guard up. She knew Claire couldn't be too happy that her day-long boyfriend had already gotten into a fight concerning his ex…who, incidentally, was Ellie.

Claire sighed and sat down next to her. "I don't suppose there's a way you can calm me down by talking again?" she asked.

Ellie smiled. "I could try," she offered.

Claire shrugged. "I was mostly joking. It's just…" She looked ashamed. "I keep putting my faith in the wrong people, you know? I mean, Charlie and I used to spend all our time together, and then he was dangerous to the baby, and I was certain I had chosen the wrong friend there. But now he seems great."

Ellie bit her lip. Great.

"And John Locke kind of replaced Charlie with raising Aaron, but then he just went of and started doing God knows what about the hatch and all kinds of things that just don't seem to be as important as keeping a baby alive. But I was certain that _he _was a good influence for Aaron."

"If there's one thing I can promise you," Ellie said, "it's that no matter how long you've known a person, you could still be completely wrong about them. Like Jake. I mean, I always thought he was this insufferable, perverted, rude idiot while I was going out with him. But I saw him with you, and he was a completely different person."

Claire laughed. "I have to admit, I had the wrong assumptions about you, too. But it really is great to have another friend on this island." Claire blushed. "I mean, if we _are _friends…"

Ellie instantly felt her guard go up, but she didn't say anything. She was fine with a little innocent bonding, but she didn't want them to become beach buddies or whatever and end up fighting, like everyone else in Ellie's life.

"It's just," Claire said, "that there weren't very many girls here before the _Expedition. _I mean, there was Shannon, but she wasn't the kind of girl I get along with, plus she…well, you know. And then there's Kate, and she's nice, and she delivered my baby, which was great, but she spends all her time in the hatch with Jack and Sawyer. And Ana Lucia was all about being tough and everything, and I can't really be like that because of Aaron, and Libby was always so intellectual, and I never even knew Sun spoke English until a few weeks ago, and…"

Ellie couldn't help but smile again. If there was one thing the 815 survivors could do that few others could, it was make her smile. "Claire," she said, silencing the rambling blonde. "It's okay. I understand. There's an unusual assortment of people on this island."

Claire nodded. "And the other girls from your boat are great, but they just talk about the most confusing scientific things, so really that just leaves you."

"Claire," Ellie said slowly, "it's fine. We're friends."

Ellie couldn't believe what she'd just said any more than Claire could. Neither of them were good at letting their guards down, especially Ellie, but she had just effortlessly managed it. Was it the island, or was it the influence others had on her? Ellie wasn't sure, but her "new life" on the island seemed to be blooming yet again.

**Deep in the Jungle**

"This is a terrible idea," Henry told Kate as they traveled back toward the survivors' camp. "My people will find me. And they will make sure I return to them."

Kate snorted. "I doubt it. Because if we see even one of them coming, you're a dead man." She said it coldly, but she was sick of the taunting and torture the Others had brought upon them, all so they could stay sane.

"If I die, I can assure you that plenty of your people will die," Henry hissed.

"I can assure _you,_" Kate replied grimly, "that we're not as pathetic as you may think. We have arms, we have brave people, and we have a doctor. We're doing pretty well on our own."

"Because we're letting you," Henry muttered.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Not all of us," she muttered in response. "You've killed some of us, robbed some of us…" Her mind reeled to Claire and she said, "Even drugged some of us," remembering the needle, when they were trying to steal Aaron when he was still inside her. "And taken some of us," she added, remembering Walt. Luckily, Michael and Walt had been reunited the day before the _Expedition _crashed.

"Why _did _you take them?" Kate asked. "The children, I mean. What use were they to you? Walt was nine or ten, right? He was loyal to his father."

"Different reasons," Henry said, "and I don't have to tell you anything."

Kate snorted. "Excuse me, but I have a knife to your throat, and I've killed someone before. So I repeat, why do you people want children? I heard you took a lot of children from the tail survivors, too."

Henry gulped. "We need a new generation of children," he said, "if we want our race of people to continue through time. We would raise them to be like us, and they would carry out our lives on the island."

"But why Walt?" Kate asked. "He wouldn't do it. He's too old."

"Walt," Henry informed her, "is very special. It's amazing that none of you noticed, but you have a psychic amongst you."

"_Walt,_" Kate repeated, "is _psychic_?"

Henry shrugged. "He is. But he is too powerful for even our psychics to deal with."

"You…he…" Kate couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it.

Henry nodded, but not enough for the knife to hurt him. "He is, but without proper care, it won't matter. He won't know how to use or control his gift."

Kate snorted. "Now you think you can just _convince _me to give him to you?" she asked.

"No, no," Henry said. "I told you, we don't want him any more. It's very bad luck that he is so powerful. Bad luck to both of us. He can hex your side, and he can hurt ours. We knew when you came here that there was a young psychic along. We just had no idea how powerful he was."

Kate sighed. There was so much about her own people that she didn't know. "What about Locke?" she asked. "What's his story? Why is he so…"

"We," Henry said, "do not know what the story is of John Locke. We didn't seem him as a wise or interesting man when we chose him. We chose him because he had a disorder, and we wanted to test the island's powers and see if it would heal him."

"Did it?" Kate asked, not knowing what the disorder was.

"It did," Henry said. "Which is why we have done all of this. Because the island is amazing, and we must preserve it."

**The Beach**

"Thank you, everyone, for coming," Hurley said politely. It was evening of the survivors' third day on the island, and Jack had suggested having a meeting to discuss what was going on. He was sick of secrets and wanted to clear the air with everyone.

Hurley's talking quieted everyone, but many of them had already been quiet. Ellie was sitting next to Claire and they were talking quietly amongst themselves, but Jake was just behind them, which tensed up all conversation. Charlie was further away, as per request of Jack (he'd split up all the fighters from earlier that day), but he was watching them closely, ceasing the talking between everyone around him. Jenny and a few of the other college students were chatting amiably, but most everyone else was too tired to keep up positive attitudes.

"Jack will be here in a few moments," Hurley added, glancing at Jack and Sawyer, who were standing and arguing a few feet away from the crowd.

Finally Jack gave Sawyer a dirty look and walked up to the front of the gathering. "Hey," he said casually, wanting everyone to feel welcome. "Listen, I just wanted to have this little meeting because a lot of people have been asking Sawyer, Locke, and me about what's going on. This is just to clarify."

He paused, and no one said anything. It was obvious that he didn't have a speech prepared.

"Uh," Jack said, "I guess I'll take questions. Just ask me anything you've been wondering."

Charlie spoke first. "Okay, what's all that stuff you and Sawyer were arguing over about?" he asked. "It had something to do with Kate."

Jack sent another dirty look to Sawyer and said, "Kate went into the jungle last night, looking for answers." This caused a loud murmur amongst the many survivors.

"Did she come back?" Bernard asked.

"Not yet," Jack said with a clenched jaw.

"Did she say she was looking for the Others?" Sayid asked. "Did she bring anything to protect herself with?"

Jack nodded. "She took guns from Sawyer's stash. She didn't say whether or not she was looking for the Others, but we're assuming she is." He looked uncomfortable with the topic. "Listen, this meeting isn't just about Kate. We don't know much about her situation. Does anyone have any other questions? I know that the _Expedition _survivors don't know much about the hatch or the Others, so if there's anything we know…"

Ellie spoke up next. "Was the guy in the hatch before you an Other?"

Jack shook his head. "No, his name was Desmond. His boat crashed on the island, and there was a man who took him into the hatch when he landed."

"How do you know he wasn't lying?" Jake asked.

"I knew him," Jack said after a moment of hesitation. "I mean, we weren't best friends, but I met him once near the hospital I worked at. He's a good guy. He's not an Other."

"Speaking of Others," came a voice from behind them. And there, looking tired as hell but also very determined, stood Kate. And she was tightly holding onto the handcuffs of the imposter of Henry Gale.

* * *

Sawyer was the first to do something. Before anyone could say anything, he ran up to Kate and kissed her, no questions asked. He just shoved Henry aside, grabbed her arms, and kissed her. It only lasted a few seconds, but it made Kate's entire body tingle, and she decided that her entire trip was worth that one kiss. 

Jack didn't exactly look thrilled with Sawyer and Kate's kiss, but he definitely looked thrilled with having Henry back.

"How did this happen?" Sayid demanded, walking up to them.

"Uh, who's he?" Ellie whispered to Claire as Sayid, Sawyer, Jack, and Kate got into a circle and started talking softly.

Claire looked pained. "I don't really know," she admitted. "Charlie said something about an Other that they caught and kept prisoner in the Hatch, but he escaped. I guess Kate found him again."

"This is stupid," Jake groaned from behind them. "They make this big deal about telling us everything they know, and then the second they learn something new, they get into a clump and hide us from it."

Ellie had to admit he was right. But unlike him, she did something about it. She walked over to Jack and poked him hard. "'Scuse me," she said firmly, "but wasn't the point of this cute little gathering to tell us what's going on and not keep us in the dark?"

"Pippy Longstocking makes an excellent point, Doc," Sawyer said to Jack, his arm protectively around Kate. Ellie rolled her eyes about the nickname given to her because of her red hair.

"I'm sorry," Jack said with a sigh. He turned to John, who was watching nearby. "Listen, Locke, can I trust you to put this guy in the hatch's cell? Sayid will come to help in case he tries to escape."

Locke nodded, looking pleased. "I'm surprised you trust me now, Jack."

Jack shrugged. "I never said that," he said flatly, and walked in front of the crowd, motioning for Kate to follow him. He didn't say anything to Sawyer, but the blonde followed, anyway.

"That," Jack shouted, "was Henry Gale, the prisoner who escaped a little less than a week ago. And I can't tell you how great it is for us that we have him back. But we have even better news," he said. The crowd looked eager to know more. "Kate knows the answers to almost all your questions now. About the Others, about the island…everything." He stepped back, and Kate stepped up.

Kate, however, wasn't as bold as Jack was. She looked uncomfortable, like she'd rather be anywhere else, and crossed her arms, hunching herself. She looked nervous and still effected by her trip, and Sawyer could tell this was a bad idea.

"Let her go to the hatch, Doc," Sawyer muttered to Jack, backing up a little. "Let her rest and take a shower. She can tell them later."

"Ellie's right," Jack argued. "They need to know what's going on when it happens. It isn't fair that we always get the first word."

Sawyer rolled his icy blue eyes and turned back to Kate, who was eyeing him nervously.

He took a deep breath, refrained himself from getting her out of there, and instead gave her an encouraging smile. This was enough for her, apparently.

"Uh," Kate said to the crowd, "I guess I could try to answer questions."

They looked tentative, but finally Hurley spoke up.

"Okay," he said, "who are they? I mean, were they born here?"

Kate shook her head. "They're normal people, kind of like us, and they were born back in the real world. They moved here because they knew about the apparent 'healing' powers the island has, and they wanted to escape from the real world."

"Why did we crash?" asked Sun. "Please, I still do not understand."

Kate glanced at Jack, not wanting to get into the details.

"Desmond—that is, the man in the hatch before us—was late pushing the button, which I think you all have heard of," Jack explained. "This caused an increase in the magnetic pull of the island somehow, and it caused our plane to crash. There's much more to it that we don't understand yet, but that's the basics of it."

Michael spoke next, sounding nervous. "So the Others…why do they keep trying to sabotage and hurt us? And why do they like children so much?"

Jack let Kate answer the next one.

"They want to live here forever," Kate explained, "and to never be exposed." Her voice was shaky, but not because she had an audience. She looked unsure of everything going on with Henry, and she doubted that a public hearing was the most important thing to do right now. "But I guess they don't have enough girls or something, because they said to promote the next generation of Others on the island, they'd have to raise them from an early age. Hence the children."

"Did they have anything to do with us crashing?" Charlie asked. He had used to deny even the existence of the Others, but that was just denial, and it was time to start facing the facts. Now he just wanted answers.

Kate nodded again. "As some of you know, Claire and Eko had a psychic involved in their means of getting on the planes. I'm sure some of you do, too," she said, looking around at everyone. "Apparently the Others on the island have psychics among them, and they used theirs to communicate with one or more in the real world." She shot Sawyer another look that clearly said _Get me out of here._

He glanced at Jack, who immediately shook his head.

"So you're saying _psychics _got us here?" Jake demanded.

"Not you," Kate said. "They crashed your ship because they didn't want to be exposed…" She frowned. "Sorry, hold on a minute, okay?" She ran over to Jack and Sawyer.

"Listen," she said before they could object. "I just stuck some handcuffs on the guy and told the people they shouldn't follow us. That doesn't mean they _won't. _We should be worrying about protecting ourselves, not press coverage!"

"This isn't press coverage," Jack argued. "This is the people's right to know what's going on with the island they crashed on."

"Also known as press coverage," Sawyer snorted. "Freckles is right. We should be worried about protecting them, not informing them."

"Informing them _is _protecting them," Jack argued.

"Not in my book," Kate objected. "Look, Jack, the best thing we can do is get some guns, station about five people around everyone else, and hope to protect everyone. Okay? I told you, Henry is their _leader. _They'll do anything to get him back."

"Kate," Jack said, "just go tell them what's going on."

It was one of the first orders she'd ever gotten from him, and it hit her hard. Kate couldn't stand being ordered around by anyone, especially Jack, who she had _kissed. _That was just wrong to her.

"Tell them yourself," she said bitterly, and grabbed Sawyer's arm. She pulled him out of the wet sand and over to Sawyer's shelter, where the guns were.

**In the Crowd**

As Jack was telling everyone to stay calm and that they would learn everything else once Kate had time to "collect" herself, Ellie and Claire were in the process of a very uncomfortable conversation.

The conversation itself wasn't uncomfortable. It was just the usual, casual small talk about life before the island—how Ellie was a senior at Emory and how Claire had a boring job at "Fish N Fry." It wasn't very interesting, but it was flowing, and it made them both a little more relaxed.

The uncomfortable part was Jake practically breathing down their necks the whole time. Finally, a few seconds after Claire was talking about the rubber factors of calamari, Ellie said something about it.

"Jake," she said, hoping Claire wouldn't mind being interrupted and sending a polite apology with her eyes, "don't you have anyone to talk to?"

Jake shrugged. "Not really," he said from behind them. "I mean, Charlie, Jack, and Sawyer have all gotten a few punches in on me. Sayid doesn't like me because of the fight, Hurley is avoiding me for no apparent reason, and Gin speaks a different language."

"Why don't you go talk to Michael?" Claire suggested. The words were polite, but they were said in a very "please-get-away-from-me-_now_" kind of way.

"What about?" Jake asked in a bored voice.

"You could ask him if he wanted help building something," Ellie offered. "Isn't he a construction worker?"

Jake frowned. "That sounds kinda boring."

Claire thought his childish attitude was cute, but Ellie found it extremely annoying. Then again, their boys had pretty much switched since they'd met, so it wasn't surprising.

"You'll stay in shape," Ellie reminded him, knowing that if anything could convince him, that would. Sure enough, he ran after Michael in an instant.

"Where is Kate?" Claire asked tiredly. "Don't you feel sometimes like they're part of that weird leader group and we're just their little followers?"

Ellie laughed, but she looked concerned. "Yeah, but I think Jack really wanted us to know what was going on. Still, did you see Kate's face? She looked _really _nervous."

"Maybe she's scared of public speaking," Claire suggested. "It's a phobia of mine."

Ellie shook her head. "I don't think so. I think she's scared of what she heard or what she saw. Claire, I think the Others are going to come after us."

**Near Sawyer's Tent**

"Kate," Sawyer said as he was being pulled to his tent, "are you _sure _you're not hurt?"

Kate looked up for a second, surprised that he had called her Kate. She was so used to her nickname (Freckles) that it didn't sound right when he said Kate. "Yeah," she said after a moment's hesitation, "I'm fine."

"So they didn't hurt you?" he asked to clarify. "Because if they laid one finger on you—"

Kate was glad he cared so much, but she interrupted him for something more important. "Sawyer," she said, "they could be standing behind me _right this second. _Why doesn't anyone seem to understand that? We have to get your guns!"

Sawyer looked at her for a second, still not really worried about the Others, but he saw the panic in her expression and nodded. He jogged over to the flap under his tent, opened it, and started pulling guns from the hatch out.

"How many?" he asked her.

She smiled, thankful that finally someone was listening to her. "We need one for you, me, Jack, Sayid, and…" She frowned. "I think I wanted five, but Locke's staying in the hatch, right?"

Sawyer shook his head slowly. "No, he's over there on the beach. He just got back." Sawyer pointed behind Kate, and she groaned.

"Just get a fifth gun for Charlie or someone, okay?" she asked, and started to leave the tent.

"Hey," Sawyer said, stopping her. "That was cool and all, but you better swear you aren't gonna do that again, okay?" He didn't say it in an ordering way, but in a requesting way, complete with a smile and a laugh.

Kate smiled. "I can't promise that," she teased.

He shrugged. "Fine. Then next time, at least invite me."

Kate's smile grew as she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I will," she promised, and left to find Locke.

**The Beach**

"John," Kate shouted, running up to John Locke, who was standing with Jack in front of the rest of the people. "What are you doing?"

John looked confused. "Jack said that you were just taking a break with the meeting."

Kate glared at both John and Jack. "First of all," she said, turning to Jack, "I'm done with your meeting, at least for today." She turned back to John. "And secondly, even though I doubt _any _of you want to listen to me, you can't leave Henry alone in the hatch! I told you, the Others are coming, and they might even know the combination. Or they might have dynamite—who knows? But Henry is our best bet for safety, and you left him alone!"

John interpreted this while Jack spoke.

"Kate," he said, "I understand what you're saying, and Sawyer's over there loading guns right this second. But don't you think you could tell people what's going on, just to sum it up?"

"I told them almost everything," Kate said, "and I didn't have to. Isn't it more important that they're defended against the Others than just knowing about them?" She was sick to death of repeating herself, but she was also frantic with worry. The Others were _not _good people.

Sawyer walked back over to them.

"John," Kate said, taking a deep breath, "_please _go back to the hatch. I have to stay here."

John shook his head. "They can't know the code. It'll be fine, Kate."

Kate's normally pale green eyes got hard and bold, and she slowly shook her head, looking completely panic-stricken. "John," she said loudly, "you _have _to go. We don't need you here!"

"Who's going to use the fifth gun?" Jack asked.

"Charlie shot one before," Kate said quickly, not wanting to stall John any more than she already had. "And he _did _kill a guy. So I'd say he has more experience than, say, you."

Jack looked a little hurt, but he nodded. "Locke, you should go ahead."

John finally nodded and left.

"Charlie," Kate shouted. "You're taking one."

Charlie looked pleased and eager to help. He ran over to them, sending a quick and hopeful smile to Ellie. Without thinking, she returned it, scowling at herself afterwards. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage things like the fighting he had just done.

_Great, _she thought. _And now I sound like my mother._

Meanwhile, Kate was explaining the situation to Charlie with words at about the speed of lightning. She, Jack, Charlie, Sayid, and Sawyer all took the guns.

"Everyone, please get as close to each other as possible!" Jack shouted to the others. "In order to keep everyone safe, we want to pack together and stand everyone with guns in a perimeter around the circle."

Everyone started muttering, not wanting to move. The _Expedition _survivors didn't know the 815 survivors well enough, and there were social discomforts like Jake, Claire, and Ellie, as well as a few very rude 815 survivors complaining about being squished against Hurley, who was apparently "taking up too much room."

"Guys," Kate shouted, "this isn't about comfort. Okay? We could've been followed. Don't you prefer a little discomfort over _death_?"

But people just muttered degradingly, obviously not believing that what she was saying was true. Kate's heart was pounding. After being in a room with those sinister people, she didn't want them to win again. But if the survivors couldn't start taking her seriously, they probably would.

They heard a twig snap, and Kate and the others immediately lifted their guns, but the survivors didn't seem to notice. They were all still grumbling, not seeming to care about a twig.

"Get together," Kate hissed, "for your own protection."

But a mean-looking thirties man from flight 815 looked disgusted with Hurley to the point that he pushed Jenny and Andrew out of the way to get more room. The engaged couple was pushed out of the packed circle and in front of Jack. He started to pull them back, but it was too late.

Two gunshots startled everyone. Kate assumed it was Sawyer shooting at nothing, but a second later, they heard a small, sharp shriek. Kate took a slow gulp and slowly turned to find Jenny, the happy face of the beach, with two bullets in her chest, blood streaming down her shirt. Above her, holding onto her for dear life with tears streaming down his face, was her fiancé Andrew. Behind them was a shuffle of leaves, and whoever fired left.

And now people took Kate seriously. Unfortunately, it was too late.

**END OF CHAPTER SEVEN**

I don't mean to bring down everyone's day, but I needed a serious chapter, since I spent so much time on the whole young love/jealousy/brawl things. Still, in case you miss them, there's going to be pretty much a little of everything next chapter: fluff (romance), more sci-fi "Other" stuff, and (of course) anger. No fights, though. I think a chapter of fights is enough.

Just so you know, this story's going to be about sixteen chapters. It's not that much, but a few of the chapters will be even longer than chapter 6 (which was 10 pages on my computer), so you'll still have plenty to read. Updates might take longer now, but they'll still all happen within a week, hopefully. So I should be done…erm…within 8 or 9 weeks? Yeah, that's right. I'll be done by two months. Probably a lot less, depending. I update fast.

Thanks for the reviews from my faithful old reviewers and now some new ones, too! You guys are the best! Here are your responses…

**astronomylover: **As you read, it was her camp…but the drama still continues! (TNT music in the background) Anyway, thanks for the loyal and encouraging review, as usual.

**samdean4567: **Hey, is your username like on _Supernatural_? I've only ever seen like 2 episodes, but they were good, and those were the boys' names. Anyway, thanks, that review really made me happy.

**xlostangelx: **I love your screenname. Ha…anyway, your reviews were really funny and entertaining to read. I agree, Skate and Chellie power! Anyway, I was thinking about putting Claire with Jake…but then I realized what a jerk I made him and changed my mind…well, maybe. Wait and see! But I hate when every single person has to end up with someone else, because like you said, why don't some of them just stay independent? (I hate—erm, dislike—Jack on the show too…he's such a fop. Like my word?) And thanks for your review about the fight too! Keep reviewing! (wow, that was long.)

**meangenius: **Thanks for your many reviews! Sorry about Ellie being mean to Charlie, but that'll change soon when you continue reading. Keep reviewing!

Thanks everyone and review some more!

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kissbangx3  
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Push the button! (puppy dog eyes)


	8. Misery

Thanks for the reviews, as usual. Sorry this took so long, but this wasn't the most exciting chapter to write, so I kind of kept putting it off. Still, I hope you like it! Please note that I am NOT a doctor and therefore have no idea what I'm talking about in medical terms. Sorry if I'm wrong.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. You'd know if I did—the whole show would be based on Charlie.

Chapter Eight: Misery

**The Beach**

No one knew what to say. Andrew had burst into tears, grabbing Jenny and screaming at the sky, demanding why they had done this. Most of the people on the beach had tears trickling down their cheeks, and the man who had pushed the couple aside in the first place, Harris, stood rigid, completely shell-shocked and mortified. Sawyer glanced sadly at Kate, knowing how desperate she had been to stop something like this from happening, and inched a little closer to her. He felt terrible for her. Kate, however, didn't cry. She looked sad for Jenny, but she looked furious at everyone else.

"Jack," Andrew finally said, "it didn't hit her straight in the heart. Do you think you could try to save her?"

Jack peeled his eyes away from Kate. He felt terrible that he had continued to stall her and demand that she give a stupid public speech. He looked doubtful that he could save Jenny, but he knew it was the best thing he could do.

"I'll do my best," he said, and ran over to Jenny. Her frail body was tense, and her arms jerked around a little in pain. She was suffering, Jack could tell, but he couldn't put an end to it. He'd have to try to save her.

He lifted her shirt to examine the wound. The bullet had hit her in the ribs.

"She pierced her ribs," Jack said, "and the bullet probably pierced her lungs."

Just as he said "lungs," Jenny burst into a spout of short, strangled coughs and deep, choppy breathing. Her eyes were wide and panic-stricken, and it hurt Jack just to see her. She didn't deserve this. The poor, innocent girl had been the happy face of the islanders, and she'd never even talked about the Others. Why would they repay her by trying—and probably succeeding—to kill her?

But Jack knew why. They were cruel people, the Others. Jenny was the one who was pushed out of the circle, and for that she was shot.

"Is she going to die?" Andrew whispered. His young, intelligent face was wrinkled and creased with worry and depression.

Jack took a deep breath. "I'll do everything I can to stop the pain, Andrew, but yes, I'm almost certain that she'll die."

Andrew's face fell and his head went downcast. He stroked Jenny's cheek, and her body slowly calmed.

This wasn't right. It was completely unfair.

* * *

"Charlie," Ellie said, running up to him. Claire followed with Aaron in her arms, and Jake glanced at them from next to Michael. 

"Should…should we go over there?" Charlie asked uncertainly, gripping his gun tightly.

Ellie shook her head. "No, they need space," she said. "I just…" She took a deep breath. "Did you see him? The shooter?"

Charlie shrugged. "Only for a second. I'm sorry—you know I would've tried to shoot if I could, but he was so far away, and he was moving so fast, and I thought I might shoot someone—"

"Calm down," Ellie ordered. "I'm not mad at you. I just thought that maybe if we could say what he looked like, we could tell someone, and they'd use it to find him."

Kate walked over to them. Her eyes looked dull, but her face was set in a determined, angry way.

"You saw him?" she asked Charlie, obviously having heard their conversation.

Charlie nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah…but only for a second. I mean, I'm not sure if…"

"Just describe him," Kate said. Charlie was slightly hurt that the two of them had gone on quite a few adventures shortly after the plane crash, and now she seemed like a total stranger. Still, he couldn't blame her for being angry.

Charlie described the shooter the best he could: tall, not overweight or muscular, dark hair, good aim. Kate nodded and started to leave, not bothering to thank him.

"Wait," Ellie said, causing Kate to stop. "So that's it?" Ellie asked when Kate turned around.

"What's it?" Kate asked.

"They shoot, you go after them? You're just going to end up getting yourself killed," Ellie said. "I know this is about revenge, but you have to understand, going after them isn't going to save Jenny."

"Yeah, but it might save anyone else here," Kate retorted grimly, "so if you don't mind, I'm leaving."

"But what about Jenny?" Claire asked. "You've always been good help to Jack in a crisis. Even to me." She rocked Aaron. "And him."

Kate gulped. "I don't know what there is to do," she said. "Henry said that the island cures, but apparently not gunshots."

"Wait," Claire said. "If the island cures, why is there a vaccine?"

Ellie and Charlie listened closely. Kate looked annoyed, like she wanted to leave, but she sighed and kept her focus on Claire. "Sorry," she said, "but _what _vaccine?"

Charlie butted in next. "There's a pack of needles and chemicals I found in the hatch. It's a vaccine, and we're not sure what it does, but me, Claire, and Aaron have used it, and we're all fine. But if the island cures, why would they have a vaccine?"

Kate sighed. "I don't know, for gunshots?" she asked sarcastically, but then her face softened and brightened. "Actually, yeah. Try giving her a shot of the vaccine."

Claire nodded. "Ellie," she said, "could you take Aaron?"

Ellie turned bright red. She obviously wasn't used to children, but she nodded and carefully took Aaron. Charlie laughed and helped Ellie rearrange herself to hold him better. Even though Ellie couldn't face any more complications with Charlie at the moment, she found it nice to laugh together and talk civilly. He had a charm that brought up her spirits, and Aaron wasn't hurting, either.

Claire ran back to her tent while Kate stepped from foot to foot.

"Kate," Ellie said while rocking Aaron, "I know that this is important to you, but out of all of us, you did the most to save Jenny. Okay? You should be the last person beating herself up about it."

Kate didn't smile, though, and Ellie sighed.

"I don't get it, Kate," she said. "Things with Jenny are terrible, and I'm furious at the Others, too. But what made you so determined to go after them? What did they do to you? I thought they just talked and then you escaped. With their leader."

Kate shook her head. "It's not that, Ellie. It's why we're here, why they put us here. Those cruel people brought us here, and they brought you here, not caring about your lives or families. They kidnapped, murdered, and hurt us." She faced Ellie, green eyes matching green eyes. "Ellie, don't you get it? If they don't want us off the island, then no matter what we do, _we're staying on this island._"

And suddenly it was all real.

* * *

"Jack," Claire said, "I've got something that might work." 

Jack shook his head distractedly, applying alcohol to Jenny's wound and beginning to remove the bullet. "No, Claire, not now. Just give us some space."

"No, this could cure her," Claire objected, but she was ignored. She turned to Andrew, who was still cradling Jenny. "Andrew," she said, tears streaming down her face. She held up the briefcase. "This has some vaccines in it. They could help…"

Andrew shook his head. "She's in enough pain," he said. "Jenny has a serious phobia of needles. Every time she gets her blood drawn, she ends up with a huge scar from tension. You can't give it to her."

Jack didn't look up at them, but he spoke as he pulled the bullet free, trying to mute out Jenny's shrieks of pain. "It won't work anyway, Claire," Jack told her. "Vaccines will only help if they're injected before the illness. And besides that, she doesn't have a disease. She has a wound."

Claire shook her head. "Just try it," she begged. "This is _the island. _Nothing's normal."

Jack took a deep breath, setting the bullet down next to him and applying pressure to the wound. "Claire, I appreciate the concern, but at this point, a needle will only make things worse. If she really has a phobia of needles, her veins will tense up. Any added tension could send her into a state of absolute shock, and she could have dangerous spasms that could cause bodily failure at any second."

"She's already having bloody bodily failure!" Claire shouted. "Jack, Jenny got shot because you wouldn't listen to Kate. Do you want her to die because you wouldn't listen to me?"

Jack took another deep breath, keeping pressure on the open wound. "Sawyer!" he shouted, and Sawyer ran over to them.

"Yeah?" he asked attentatively. Jack was surprised at how Kate's good was rubbing off on him.

"Go get any relaxing pills you can find. We're talking high-class, instant medicine. They should relieve tension and spread her veins. The needle should enter."

Claire exhaled after what felt like hours of holding her breath. "Thank you," she said.

Jack nodded to her.

"Got any brand names?" Sawyer asked, turning to leave.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Anesthesiologists always handled these kinds of situations at the hospital. Just look for relaxers."

Sawyer nodded and ran off.

* * *

Kate had gone to join Claire and Jack, and once again, Ellie and Charlie were left alone. 

"Don't let it get to you," Charlie said, sitting down next to Ellie. "I honestly don't think Kate's right. We'll all be rescued some day." He grinned. "Remember what I said? We'll be in a band. We'll be famous because we're plane crash survivors."

Ellie shook her head. Even Charlie's cute positivism couldn't help her now. "We're not going to get rescued," she said, her eyes watching the waves roll in and out. She felt like those waves had been taunting her for her entire life, and it had only been four days. "The Others are capable of anything, including keeping us here."

Charlie shook his head. "No," he said, "they're not. They have guns, and they have homes. But think about the big picture. Police and SWAT members? Search parties? They're better armed, trained, and funded than the Others. I'd put my money on them any day."

Ellie shook her head again. There wasn't a question in her eye. "You don't get it, Charlie. I've only been here for four days, but I understand it. The island, the monster, the hatch, and the Others—they're all connected. They're this huge thing weaving around us like a spider web, trapping us and torturing us before eventually killing us. And that spider web is one tiny sprinkle in the huge world." Her emerald eyes focused on him sadly. She was glad he was positive, but all she could bear right now was what Kate had told her: "The Others want us here forever, Charlie, which means we're staying on the island. Forever."

She got up and left, but Charlie didn't follow her. He couldn't. Her words had hit him hard, and finally he realized it, too.

**Sawyer's Tent**

Sawyer felt his jaw clench and loosen as he threw pill containers and liquid medicines over his shoulder, searching for any relaxation medicine he could find. He still couldn't decide whether to be thrilled or miserable. On the one hand, he had the girl of his dreams. On the second hand, she was probably going to get herself killed by continuously hunting down Others. On the one hand, he was on an island where he wasn't struggling for money or a get-out-of-jail-free card. On the second hand, he was struggling for life.

Was Kate right? Were they stuck on the island forever? Somehow it seemed comforting to him, to be able to be with Kate for the rest of his life. But he knew that they wouldn't survive that long. It was a wonder that the majority of them had made it this far. The Others were after them, the monster was sometimes after them, and apparently no one was looking for them.

_Okay, _he thought to whoever was out there, _you helped me out a ton. You got an amazing girl to like me back, and we had a hell of a lot of bonding time. Now you can take me back home._

But he silently scolded himself as he pulled out a jar of "INSTANT RELAXATION" pills. No one was listening, and no one was out there. Or if they were, they sure weren't looking at the island.

**Somewhere South of the Beach**

Ellie had been walking for at least twenty minutes in her bare feet, letting her toes squish in the sand. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't so bad. The Others would probably let them off the hook eventually—when they were done assuring themselves they weren't insane, probably—and when they did, she would finally be able to return home to Allison and the good old Sunlots Apartment Complex. But until then, she could just enjoy the paradise she had been given. After all, they were on a beautiful beach with an endless supply of food and water, and she had the charming (but very fluctuating) company of Charlie Pace.

But no matter how much she tried to look at it on the bright side, it came back around to peril and depression. Sure, they were on a beautiful beach, but they couldn't leave it. There was an endless supply of food and water, but the food came marked with a questionable and possibly dangerous "Dharma" symbol, and the water came from a waterfall that could also be questionable. Charlie would get sick of her eventually, just like Jake had, and the Others would always be torturing them.

Something hard washed in and brushed over her foot. She glanced down at it, pulling her long, matty red hair off her face to see it. She was disappointed to see that it was only a religious statue, probably of the Virgin Mary. She kicked it aside, making a mental note to bring it back when she returned, in case Charlie and Eko wanted it for their church.

But then another of the statues washed in, followed by a third. She piled them all together, looking at the stack curiously. She rolled up her worn-out jeans and waded into the water to find two more washing into shore. What was this, some kind of sign?

The thought crossed her mind that it was a god or a spirit's way of sending her hope. Ellie wasn't sure if she believed in God, spirits, or any other religious symbols, but if she did, she knew she was furious at them. How could they harm an innocent girl like Jenny and let cruel people like the Others live?

"You want to make me faithful?" she shouted at the sky. She grabbed one of the statues, feeling ridiculous but enraged at the same time. "Then give us some damn justice!" she shouted, ramming the statue into the ground and crushing it. She knew it wasn't very good payback to whoever sent it, but it was a way to let out the pain and anger she was feeling, so she did it. When she looked down, she saw that the broken pieces shifted to reveal what she knew was… heroin.

She gulped, feeling like she was choking, but her throat hurt from a sudden spout of dryness. Her body became stiff, and her mind and heart began racing. She had smoked cigarettes and had alcohol sometimes before, but neither enough to get her addicted. But she'd never had anything illegal, and she had a sinking feeling that one snort of even a few crumbs of the dust would get her addicted.

But wasn't it supposed to relieve her? Ellie mused for a second that this was what Jack should've used on Jenny, but she instantly felt a protectiveness for it, like she didn't want Jenny to have it. What was going on? It wasn't like she was going to _use _it.

Then again, why not? It was just an experience, and anything to relieve her rush of anguish would help. She would probably just die on the island, anyway. She might as well die addicted.

She glanced up the beach to where the others were. None of them could see what she was doing, and she doubted they would notice even if she was in sight range. But her eyes caught on the familiar face of Charlie, and she immediately sank to her knees, taking the small bags of heroin in her hands.

She wasn't sure if he was coming, but she felt like it was too late to back away from the drugs. She stuffed them into her jeans' pocket and stood up, brushing off her legs. She shakily headed back. This didn't mean anything, did it? She was just taking it, not using it. And it wasn't like anyone could blame her. Everyone had their own ways of dealing with depression. Ellie had a pretty big mound of depression heaved on her for her entire life. The island was just the thing that put her over the edge.

She glanced forward to see Charlie breaking into a run. She crossed her arms self-consciously, hoping frantically that he hadn't seen anything. She didn't want to be questioned. She just wanted to have her own choices and make them on her own time.

"Ellie," Charlie said, slowing to a walk and coming over to her. "Uh, what've you got in your pockets? I saw you put something there."

Her arms stayed crossed over her chest, and her knees stiffened. "Nothing," she said softly, feeling her eyes start to water. How was that possible? Ellie never cried, not even at her parents' funeral. Then again, just as she had thought, maybe the island was just pushing her over the edge.

Charlie glanced behind her and saw the Virgin Mary statues. He immediately backed away from Ellie, but she knew he was probably just backing away from the drugs.

"No bloody way," he muttered. "I threw those into the sodding _ocean_!"

Ellie shrugged. "Current," she said, her voice still about the tone of a whisper. "It was flowing this way."

Charlie nodded, looking nervous, frustrated, and frantic. "Listen to me, Ellie," he said, facing her. "I…" He looked like he was struggling. "I was addicted for a long time, and it all started because of Liam. Or I should say, a big depression."

Ellie didn't want to hear this. Why was he caring about her again? She was reading past the stopping her part and right into the caring about her part. It was sweet and compassionate, but it was more scary than when Jake _didn't _care about her, and it sent yet another wave of emotions over her that also brought on a whole new wave of tears welling up in her eyes. But she refused to let herself cry, because she felt that it was a defeat. Crying would be like surrendering to the cruel world.

"But once it starts, it doesn't stop. And I always needed another fix, but every time I had one, I regretted the day I started. Because if I hadn't started, I wouldn't have kept going."

Ellie placed her hands in her pockets, feeling the bag mold where she touched it. But she didn't break it or take it out. Instead she felt her body sit. Her body sat, but her mind didn't. Her mind stayed in her pocket, focusing on the heroin and nothing else. Was it worth it?

Was _what _worth it? What was she risking? The only person who would suffer from this was herself, and she knew that this would be nothing in comparison with what she had already suffered.

"Ellie," Charlie said, his blue eyes boring into hers. But her eyes were so clouded over with tears, she couldn't see anything. Still, she refused to let herself blink. She wouldn't admit defeat.

"Ellie," he said again, "there are better things. Better ways to make yourself feel better than…" He gestured to her pockets. "…that." He let out a small grin despite his misery. "Besides, you were supposed to keep me off drugs, not the other way around! You don't want us _both _to be hopeless, do you?"

She glanced down at her pockets, ignoring his joking comment for the moment, and a small tear fell astray as she did so. She quickly looked back up, spreading her eyes wide. She wouldn't blink _or _look down. She wouldn't let life take any more.

"Ellie," he said softly, "we're in this together. We'll face it together."

No one had ever said something so reassuring. His words were more comforting than anything anyone had ever said to her before, and them alone made her feel like she had a reason to live again. Because it _wasn't _just her. For once in her life, she was with someone who actually wanted to be with her, to face things with her. And when she blinked, she didn't see defeat. She saw hope. Along with many, many tears. But they were tears of hope. And as she took out the heroin and ripped the bags open, stomping on the powder, she smiled with Charlie. Her smile collapsed and was overshadowed by tears, but she still couldn't be happier as she hugged him warmly, tears streaming and heart leaping. Because as miserable as she was, she wasn't alone. And she didn't have to torture herself any more.

**The Beach**

Sawyer handed the pills to Jack the second he returned. Jack didn't look up or thank him, but Sawyer didn't mind. He hadn't expected him to.

Jack gently opened Jenny's mouth, which she was still wheezing out of, and placed two of the round white pills on her tongue. He took a water bottle from Jin, who was lurking nearby, and tried to give some to her. But she coughed and turned her head, still in obvious pain.

"Kate," Jack said, "I need your help."

Kate stopped pacing and glanced at him nervously. "How?"

"Remember when you had to get Sawyer to take the pills?" Jack asked, wincing at the memory. It was probably the first time Jack had noticed that the two had feelings for each other. "I need you to get Jenny to take these."

Kate shook her head. "No, I knew Sawyer," she said quickly. "I don't even know Jenny. She won't accept them from me."

"It wasn't because," Sawyer said, "she knew me. It was because I liked her." He wanted to say _loved, _but he couldn't bring himself to admit that he was in love, at least not out loud. "She just needs Glasses over here to talk her into it."

Andrew, or "Glasses," nodded and looked down at his dying fiancé. His eyes were still red from crying, but he focused on her. "Jenny, there's still hope for you," he said softly. Kate couldn't believe how calm he was being—crying on his own, but not being mad or even frustrated at anyone else. "You can still make it. You can't leave me here. Just hold on. And if you swallow these pills, you'll be able to be helped. You've got to swallow them." He continued whispering reassuring things into Jenny's pale, freckled ears until, finally, she gulped down the pills with the water. Kate breathed out and smiled at Sawyer.

"_That's _why you swallowed them?" she asked fondly.

He snorted. "'Course," he said, and Kate realized that it probably was pretty obvious. But she had been so caught up in these adventures and risks that they were taking, she'd never found time to sort out her relationships. At least, not until now.

But when she thought about her "adventures" again, she was reminded of her latest quest: she had to find the Other that shot Jenny. She didn't want to kill any of the Others—well, she _wanted _to, but she wouldn't let herself—but only to capture them and make them let the survivors free. Kate couldn't stand waking up to the island every morning, each morning losing another day's hope of being rescued.

"Jack," she said, "do you need me any more?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I guess not," he said distractedly.

"Why?" Sawyer asked quickly, his cloudy blue eyes questioning Kate. "Where do you think you're goin', Freckles?"

Kate sighed. "You _know _where I'm going, Sawyer. I've got to find him."

**Claire's Tent**

After delivering the suitcase with the vaccine in it, Claire had returned to her tent, knowing she wouldn't be able to bear it if Jenny still died. Now she was intently Aaron sleep. During all the trouble and problems with the caves, the hatch, the Others, the _Expedition _survivors, and now Jenny (not to mention Jake), she hadn't ever had much time to just admire her son. She spent so much time being with others that she momentarily forgot who she was: the mother of Aaron. And he was the sole creature that mattered most to her in the world.

He was all she had for certain, and she clung to that fact with all her heart. Her parents had never cared about her—they were ashamed of her. Thomas had left her, Charlie had moved on to Ellie (although she wasn't sure she could handle the relationship with the ex-pop-star/junkie, anyway), and Jake was just another landmine waiting to be triggered.

Why had she let such petty things get into the way of her relationship with her child? Things with Charlie had endangered Aaron, and things with Jake were making Claire think of Thomas, which made her revert to thinking about Thomas all over again, which was _never _good. But Aaron didn't remind Claire of Thomas. The little baby was all hers. As the psychic had said, "The father doesn't matter." It was Claire who mattered, and that sense of importance was like a contract with herself. She wouldn't let herself be a bad parent for Aaron. And if raising him on an island was the way she'd do it, that was fine.

So why couldn't she stop thinking about Jake? He wasn't good for her or Aaron. In fact, she highly doubted he was good for anyone on the island, except perhaps Jack and his errands and Michael and his construction. He started fights, he'd treated Ellie like dirt, and he'd been a total bully to all the other college students, despite the fact that he was twenty-two and much too old to be acting so immature.

Claire looked back down at her sleeping child. "They don't matter," she whispered to him. "It's you and me, Aaron." And despite her problems, she truly meant it.

**The Beach**

"Okay, we're ready to use the vaccine," Jack said when Jenny lost her tension and softened, molding further into Andrew's arms.

Kate was sure to listen to everything that was going on, but she was mostly focused on getting out of there and finding the Other who shot Jenny.

"You can't just _go _again," Sawyer said plainly.

Kate snorted. "No offense, Sawyer, but you really can't stop me."

He considered this and nodded. "You're right," he said, "I sure can't. But that doesn't mean I can't come with." He winked at her as he lifted his gun.

Kate sighed. She wanted him to come, but she had started this by herself, and she planned on finishing it the same way. "Sawyer," she said, "you're not coming."

"Freckles," he said in response, "I sure am."

She put her hands on her hips. "Just stay here!" she said, but not in a mad way—just an exasperated way. Were they really already nagging at each other like an old married couple? Couldn't that at least hold off until they'd had a third kiss?

He shrugged. He still looked too tired and miserable to smile, but his words didn't bite or hurt her. "As you said, you really can't stop me."

She considered arguing with him more, but she decided against it. It would be great quality time with him, and she knew that without a friendly face there to support her, she'd probably do something she'd later regret.

"Fine," she said with a sigh, "you can come. But you can't kill anyone unless you're going to die, okay?"

Sawyer shrugged. "Fair's fair," he agreed.

Kate took a deep breath. "So…into the jungle?"

Sawyer nodded, looking just as regretful about it as she did. "Yeah," he said, "but you know what, Freckles? We got each other."

She knew that that small change from being alone to being with Sawyer would alter the entire expedition, but she was willing to take that risk. For Sawyer. And for herself.

* * *

"Did it work?" 

Jack didn't answer Andrew's question right away. He didn't know anything about the vaccine, and he wasn't sure it would help, but he was relying on it at this point. He'd stitched up her wound, but she had lost so much blood that he doubted her survival was possible.

"Did it work?" Andrew repeated anxiously.

Jack scanned Jenny's mouth, ribs, and stomach. They looked the same, though she did look more calm. Then again, Jack was pretty sure that was from the relaxers.

"I don't think it had any effect," Jack said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Andrew, but I don't think Jenny can be saved."

Andrew shook his head, too sad for words, and pounded a fist against the ground. "Then do something," he begged. "Anything! We can't lose her."

Jack's temple pulsed. He looked angry, but not with anyone besides himself. He blamed himself completely for what had happened. If he had just listened to Kate… He knew he was the unofficial leader of the island. The people listened to him, and no matter how hard she had tried, they wouldn't listen to Kate. If he'd been saying what Kate had been saying, they would have all been fine.

_Please don't die, _Jack thought desperately, his mind spinning. _If you do, I'll never be able to forgive myself._

**Heading Into the Jungle**

"I came with you to be with you and to save your ass, Freckles, but just to make sure… are you _sure _you want to be doing this?"

Kate sighed. She was glad he'd come, and he was making her trip a lot more positive than her last one, but she still couldn't stand the thought of Jenny, who was probably dead by now, dying for no reason. And the thought of getting off the island—or at least getting more of the Others captivated—was enough to keep her going.

"Sawyer," she said, "it's dangerous. And we might die. It probably won't end well. But it's something I have to do, and if you have to do it with me, then I'm glad."

Sawyer's eyes flickered in admiration, but he still looked worried. "I know I don't know you well enough to question your motives," he said in a serious, intelligent way, "and I know I'm not some psychologist or whatever, but are you sure there aren't other reasons for you doing this?"

Kate raised her eyebrows. "Other reasons? Like what?"

He shrugged. "Like you running away from something. I get the impression you do that a lot." He didn't sound hurtful; he sounded worried.

"I _did _that a lot," she corrected him, "but not any more. This isn't me running away from something. It's me running _to _something, and once I find it, I'm coming back."

And it was true: she wasn't running from anything. She was going to beat the Others and get back to her old life. And once she got there, she still wouldn't run. She'd face whatever she had coming and hope for the best.

**The Beach**

Jack considered his options. He'd done all that was possible with the wound, and he couldn't give her any more of the vaccine. All that was left was to wait it out, but he was almost certain that at this point the vaccine wouldn't work.

Jack stood up, and Andrew looked at him, eyebrows narrowed.

"You're _leaving_?" Andrew demanded.

Jack gulped. "I've got to run this off," he said. "I'll stop by Sawyer's tent and see if there's anything that can further set the vaccine into her bloodstream." Andrew nodded in agreement, so Jack raced across the beach to Sawyer's tent.

_I never even knew you, _Jack thought, like many others on the island. _I've been so concerned about the hatch and the Others, I haven't been concerned about being with anyone else. Not talking, not listening… that's probably why I lost Kate, too._

His hands brushed against a container filled with liquid. It was a liquid medicine to be injected through the skin that surrounded the vaccine in the bloodstream. He wasn't sure if it would work, but the relaxation pills would still have effect, so he decided to give it a try. He raced back to Jenny, who was hardly breathing, her bright eyes nearly shut.

He took the needle and poured the correct amount of the medicine into it. Taking a deep breath, he injected it. _Whoever put us on the island, _he thought, _take pity and save this girl._

A few seconds later, Jenny's bright hazel eyes fluttered back open. Her breathing steadied, showing that her ribs had healed.

Jack gaped at her for what felt like too long. He had considered what happened with Sarah to be a miracle, but this? This wasn't even a miracle. It was _magic. _That was the only thing that could possibly explain it. Or was it just the island?

He lifted her shirt again and gently tore her bandages. Her wounds were still there and bloody, but the bones from her ribs weren't in the wrong places any more. The only damage she had was on the outermost layer of her skin. The vaccine had worked miracles.

Jenny blinked twice, and her hazel eyes settled on Andrew. "They're evil," she whispered, "but the island isn't on their side any more."

And amidst all the misery and sorrow that had surrounded the survivors, Jenny's survival and now her quote were true signs of hope. Because she was right: they had the island on their side now.

**END OF CHAPTER EIGHT**

I know it's kind of confusing, but basically it means things will be picking up nicely for the survivors and not so much for the Others. Sorry that this chapter was so depressing, and I wasn't sure if I liked the Ellie-drugs thing, but I needed a bonding moment that sent the Chellie (heehee) relationship back into gear, hopefully permanently.

As usual, thanks for the reviews that keep me going. Sorry that this chapter wasn't very energetic or fun, but THE NEXT FOUR CHAPTERS ARE GOING TO BE FULL OF ACTION AND FUN. So look forward to them, read them, and review them!

Here are my beautiful reviewers' review responses:

**CowboyswithDimples: **The ass-kicking Kate returns in the next chapter, as you read. Come back and read it! (I love your penname by the way. It's awesome.)

**astronomylover: **You rule. You review every time! My next chapter will be dedicated to you. ANYWAY, yes, Jenny turned out to be okay. I was planning on killing her off, but I couldn't bear it. She was too sweet. Plus the whole island-on-their-side thing fit in with it. And the next chapter: SKATE POWER as they go into the jungle together. Hee.

**xlostangelx: **I love having you here, my biggest Skate fan. Anyways, I didn't kill Jenny, so HA! (sticks tongue out) jk. Thanks, keep reviewing!

Push the button please!

* * *

>KISSBANGX3!

* * *

Pushy pushy! 


	9. Death

I have once again returned. I always do! Anyway, this chapter has a sad title, I know, but it should be fun to read, and it's not necessarily bad. So read & review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost, the characters, the island, or the filming gear. But it would be awesome to film my own version of Lost. (claps hands) DUDE! I should do that. (Not really…)

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to **astronomylover,** who has loyally reviewed every chapter and deserves a prize! (This is the best I've got.) But thanks to everyone else, too!

Chapter Nine: Death

**The Beach**

The near-death experience that Jenny faced had affected all the survivors in surprising ways. No longer were people staying by themselves in tents or even the hatch. They all mingled amongst each other now, getting to know each other better. Even Jack only spent the time in the hatch that was needed to push the button, and once it was done, he'd trade off with Locke and come back to socialize. It wasn't a matter of popularity or even friendship, and a psychologist would probably say it was for fear of losing someone else. But to the islanders, it was just a matter of staying close and safety in numbers—they felt better when they were together.

Claire, Charlie, Ellie, and Jake were all taking a walk together, Claire cradling Aaron. They were an unusual assortment of people—the beautiful, angelic Claire, the has-been rock god Charlie, the unusual, grunge-y yet good-looking Ellie, and the athletic, smug Jake. They'd been through a lot of bad things, but somehow they were drawn to each other, and they had agreed to take a walk to try to sort things out.

Ellie and Claire had been friends since the _Expedition _crash, so they were talking decently to each other, even joking and having some fun. Charlie and Jake were shooting glares at each other when the girls weren't looking, but they managed to stay civil. Ellie still felt furious at the thought of being around Jake, but after all those years, she knew she'd be able to stand it. And as much as Claire hated Jake, she still felt like he had a hold on her—a hold a lot like the one Thomas had had on her before she was pregnant.

_But that ended terribly, _she had to remind herself. _So will this, if I let it happen. But I won't._

An onlooker would probably assume they were double dating—Claire and Jake, Ellie and Charlie. Ellie and Charlie were certainly close at this point, though neither was certain of where their relationship stood. Claire and Jake, on the other hand, were at no such point. Claire didn't want to be in a relationship, especially one with Jake, as she kept reminding herself. Jake, on the other hand, was attracted to Claire in a way that he felt like he _had _to have her.

Whatever the pairings and friendships, they had walked for about an hour, and they were finally making their way bay to the main beach. But once they got there, the commotion startled them. Only an hour ago, everyone was getting along with everyone, and now everyone was shouting and pointing.

"What's going on?" Ellie demanded. "They can't last an hour without getting along?"

Claire looked concerned. "I think something bigger than that happened," she said, speeding up her pace as she rocked Aaron, trying to silence his crying.

They all sped up, looking for Jack, Kate, Sawyer, or Locke. But none of them were there. Finally Charlie found Sayid and ran up to him. Ellie, Claire, and Jake followed behind him.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked Sayid.

He pointed behind them, near the shores. "Either the island did this, or one of us did," he said in his thick Iraqi accent.

They all turned around, searching for what he was pointing to, and finally their eyes caught hold of what was making everyone panic: five dead bodies.

**Somewhere in the Jungle**

"D'you think you could slow down at least a coupla miles per hour?" Sawyer asked Kate wearily as they trudged through the jungle.

Kate rolled her eyes and stopped walking. "We can stop for a minute," she said, breathing heavily, "but not for long. I don't want to be away from our camp for too long. If something happens, they need both of us to hold guns."

Sawyer grinned, raising his gun. "We're already doin' that, aren't we?"

Kate laughed and sat down on a large rock. Sawyer sat across from her.

"So what are we going to do once we get there?" he asked her seriously. "'Cause—correct me if I'm wrong—it didn't seem like you had a brilliant plan last time you went in there and almost got yourself killed."

Kate let out a small smile. "I talked to Alex," she said, pitching the idea to him. "We could try to find her."

"That's an idea," he said with a nod, "but not a plan."

Kate rested her chin on her knee, thinking. "We could say that if any of them try to shoot us, their leader dies," she suggested. "Like I did last time."

"They wouldn't let us just take them and take them," Sawyer said. "They're bad people—they'd probably just say they'd let him die anyway."

Kate bit the bottom of her lip, thinking. "We could just make a fast entrance, grab some random people, hold guns to their heads, and say they die _and _their leader dies if anyone follows," she suggested.

Sawyer laughed lightly. "You really like that idea," he said, "but there are others. Like, for instance, we could just take that girl hostage."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "_Alex_? Why? She's the only one of them that we have even slightly on our side."

"Therefore," Sawyer said with a grin, "she'll be the easiest to take hostage."

**The Beach**

Ellie, Charlie, and Jake ran across the beach to the dead bodies.

"Who are they?" Claire demanded from behind them, walking quickly but not quickly enough to catch up with them, since Aaron was in her arms and she couldn't run.

Ellie knelt to her knees to give them a closer look. Charlie stood close to them but kept his distance, obviously nervous about the dead bodies. Jake knelt beside Ellie, but he kept his hands at his sides, also obviously grossed out.

Ellie, who'd already had her share of deaths in her life, fingered their clothing. "None of us have clothes like this," she observed, referring to the shaggy shirts and worn-in cloth pants. She looked at their faces, noticing a lot of facial hair. "And I don't think they were washed in. I think they're Others, and someone killed them."

Claire, who had finally caught up to them, looked thrilled. "Really?" she asked. She looked disgusted but pleased. "_Five _Others? Isn't that really good for us?"

Ellie glared at her for the first time since the island. Ellie hadn't even disliked her this much when she kissed Jake. "Claire," she said, "they're _dead. _We can't wish death upon anyone. Imagine if they had families. Their children and brothers and sisters would've lost them."

Claire looked ashamed, but she didn't looked like she had backed down.

Jake spoke for her. "So what?" he demanded. "C'mon, you know they're terrible people. On some point, at least, admit you wanted this."

Ellie's jaw clenched tightly. "I wanted the Others to leave us alone," she said, "but I wouldn't wish this on them. _Ever._"

"But that's five of them who could've killed us!" Claire objected. "Isn't that good?"

Ellie shook her head, feeling like it was swimming in twenty-pound weights. "Claire," she said, "they're _dead._"

"You guys," Charlie said, "we don't have time to debate this. We need to get Jack and Locke. Where _are _they?"

Claire shrugged, turning her attention to him. "Hatch?"

Charlie nodded and left.

**The Hatch**

Locke and Jack were both standing in the dungeon cell of the hatch, facing Henry angrily. His legs, arms, and waist were tied to the wall, but they still felt nervous around him.

"Why the hell," Jack asked Henry in a seething voice, "would you wish our lives on anyone?"

"Why the hell," Henry asked in response, "don't you see how lucky you are?"

Locke's eyes darted to him, wondering if he'd heard him correctly. "Lucky?" he repeated. "You've kidnapped us, abused us, and attempted at killing us, not to mention the original causing our plane to crash."

"Actually," Henry said innocently, "that wasn't us. That was your friend Desmond."

"I'd place a lot of money on the fact that you made him do it," Jack retorted.

Henry shrugged. "Maybe, but that's still not the point. The island is so much better than any normal life. Can't you see that?"

"No," Locke and Jack said at the same time.

Henry shrugged. "It's your loss, then. We don't want this terrible life for you, though. We would've even let you join us, but our psychics said you'd be too nervous. You'd try to get out, and we couldn't have the likes of that in our camps."

Jack snorted. "We wouldn't _ever _want to join you," he spat.

Henry grinned. "That, too," he said.

"We're going to get off this island," Jack said, "and when we do, you'll all be arrested and probably put on death row. Depending on what country you go to."

Locke laughed lightly at this, but Henry cocked his head in a taunting way.

"You'd wish death on me?" Henry asked interestedly. "On any of us, for that matter?"

Jack looked pained. "I wouldn't wish death on anyone," he said, "but I wouldn't stop it if it helped us get off this island, or if it served justice."

"Well," Henry said, "I guess that's why you didn't stop five of my people from dying."

**Somewhere in the Jungle**

"Sawyer, I guess I get what you're saying, but we can't just take Alex."

Sawyer looked annoyed, but he could understand her concern. "Why not?" he asked. "It'd be good for her, us, and even the French chick. We need to get Alex outta there before she turns completely evil like them, and in the process we'll be getting her back to the French chick, her mom, who _really _wants her back. _And _we'll have another 'hostage' against them."

"But they'll just come take her back," Kate argued. "Rousseau won't be able to keep Alex from the Others."

"No," Sawyer agreed, "but _we _will. And I'm pretty sure Rousseau will agree to stay with us as long as she can be with her daughter."

Kate considered this. "But we'd have to keep Alex on the beach," she reminded him after a second. "We can't keep her in that dungeon in the hatch, especially not with Henry."

Sawyer shrugged. "So? We'll keep her on the beach."

"But then think of all the Others that will come to the beach and try to attack us. They know we won't kill Alex. They'll just start a war."

Sawyer's blue eyes glinted. "Then maybe we should fight in it."

**The Hatch**

"Jack? Locke?"

Charlie's British accent came, muffled, through the door into the prison cell of the hatch. Locke nodded to Jack, who opened the door.

"Hi, Charlie," Jack said. Locke did the same. Charlie didn't feel like replying to Locke, even though he was a little glad that they were talking again. Instead he turned to Jack to tell him what was going on.

"Jack, something _really _big happened," he said. Jack nodded, silently telling him to speed it up.

Charlie took a deep breath. "Uh…er… there are five dead Others on the beach."

Jack's head snapped back around to Henry. "You were _serious_?" he asked in disbelief. "How'd you know?"

"As I told you," Henry said, "we have very powerful psychics. One of ours alerted me of the situation when it happened."

"We've got to get people stationed back out there!" Jack said urgently to Charlie. "They'll come and fight any second."

"Yeah," Charlie said, "and you've got to come back, okay? The people are going bloody insane."

"Locke," Jack said, "sorry, but you've really got to stay here. If the Others come, they're going to stop by here and try to free Henry."

Locke nodded. "I've got a gun," he said. "I'll keep him here," he promised.

Jack turned back to Charlie. "Okay," he said, "let's go."

**The Beach**

The second Jack reached the beach, it was like everyone was under a spell. They all stopped fighting, and they all circled around him, waiting to hear what he wanted.

"God," Charlie muttered to Ellie when he returned, "they're so bloody obsessed with him."

Ellie nodded in agreement, glad Charlie was back to his old "bloody" self. "I feel so bad for Kate. She has just as many rights as Jack to give us commands, but the only person they listen to is Jack, because he's the sodding doctor." She imitated his British accent again when she said "sodding."

Charlie laughed in response and turned back to Jack, who was looking over the dead bodies, doing his best at making an autopsy. He scanned the back of their heads, which were all dented and extremely bloody. He winced at the sight.

"They were all beaten in the head," he determined, standing back up. He glanced around the crowd. "Wait. Do we even know who did this?"

No one said anything.

"Well, it had to be one of us, right?" Charlie asked. "I mean, who else would it be?"

Jake looked skeptical. "Sayid said something about the island doing it," he said. "I don't really believe in stuff like that, but we saw what the vaccine did to Jenny." Jenny was back in the _Expedition _survivors' shelter now, resting, but Andrew nodded on her behalf.

"You think the island hit these guys in the back of their heads with a club?" Ellie asked with a snort. She felt a little guilty about dismissing his idea so quickly, but she figured that if the island had done it, Jack wouldn't know why they were dead.

"It's like Jenny said," Andrew told her. "We have the island on our side now. How else would Jenny have…" He looked pained, but he finished his sentence. "…Survived?"

"The vaccine," Sun said from next to Jin, obviously wanting to take part in the important discussion. She was translating a mile a minute, but she managed to take part in the conversation, too. "Was it not the vaccine that cured her?"

Jack nodded. "It was," he said, "but it shouldn't have. Jenny made a point—it could've been the island's doing." He turned to look at everyone. "The Others have told me, Kate, and Locke the same thing: the island is magical and powerful. It's possible that it cured Jenny, but I'm not sure about this. It was clearly from a club or a bat."

Ellie's eyes turned to Andrew, who looked innocent. She remembered him having something like that on the ship, though…

"Charlie," she whispered. He glanced at her, and she continued, "Andrew brought a metal bat on the plane. I remember we were all wondering how he got it through Customs, but they let you bring anything if you check it. I think it was so he could play with a few of his friends."

"So?" Charlie asked, looking confused. "You think _Andrew _did it?"

"I know it doesn't seem like he can kill," Ellie admitted, "but Jenny almost died. Don't you think he would've wanted some revenge?"

**Near the Others' Camp**

"We're here," Kate whispered.

Sawyer nodded, scanning the camp for Alex. "So," he said softly, "we never actually clarified. Are we taking Alex, or not?"

Kate turned to face him. She could just do what she wanted to do—she had a feeling it was the better option, anyway. But he looked honest, like he really thought his idea was good, and she knew that since she let him come, she should consider his ideas.

"Okay," she said, "but only because I like you."

Sawyer's lips spread to a wide smile. "Aw, thanks, Freckles," he said happily, and turned back to the camp. "See, now I have a stronger will to save our asses," he explained. "You should flirt with me more often."

Kate laughed, waiting for Alex to walk up to them like the last time. She didn't know how Alex had done it, but she had a feeling she'd be doing it again. "Maybe if we ever get off the island," Kate whispered. It wasn't until after she said it that she realized what she'd suggested: that she wanted to spend her life with him even after the island. She instantly felt nervous. "Not that we…" she stuttered, not sure what to say.

Sawyer didn't look fazed by it—at least, not in a bad way. He looked pleased. "I'm honored," he said.

Kate smiled, relaxed again, just as Alex walked up to them.

"_Kate_!" Alex whispered loudly. "What are you _doing _here? Wasn't taking our leader enough?"

Kate blushed, but looked at Alex certainly. "Alex, listen to me. You have to come with us. We don't want to cause any trouble, and we don't want to take any more of you hostage. We just want to take you back to the beach with us and ask you some questions."

Alex said nothing.

"You know we won't hurt you," Kate said softly.

Alex shook her head. "I don't know that!" she objected. "You _killed _some of us. _Five _of us!"

Kate and Sawyer both looked completely taken aback. Kate was too shocked to talk, so Sawyer did. "We did the what to the who, now?" he asked, sounding as confused as he felt.

"It might not have been you two, but some of your people killed ours," Alex said. "It's time for me to choose sides now, and I'm sorry, but I'm not choosing your side."

Kate glanced at Sawyer, unsure of what to do, but he looked pretty certain.

"Sorry, Frenchie," he said to her. He pulled out a knife and held it to her throat.

**The Beach**

"We've got to tell someone," Charlie said as soon as what Ellie was saying caught up to him. "Jack. We should tell Jack."

Ellie shook her head. "He doesn't deserve to be yelled at or shunned," Ellie said. "He was just doing what he thought was right out of revenge. Jack will make him feel terrible."

"Maybe he _should_!" Charlie argued, but Jack heard his outburst.

"What?" Jack asked him.

"Uh…" Charlie looked down nervously.

"They're still going on and on about how the guy who did this should be punished," Jake clarified to Jack.

"They're right," Jack said. Ellie glanced at Andrew, but he didn't seem fazed. _Nice cover up, _she thought to herself. "You can't just kill someone," Jack added. "It wasn't even in an act of self-defense. Just because there aren't penalties for our actions on the island doesn't mean we should act badly."

"But it _was _an act of self-defense," Claire reminded him. She didn't understand what the big deal was. Jack had gone on and on about how terrible they were, and Kate had said that if the Others wanted them on the island, they would stay on the island. So one of the survivors had killed five of the Others. Was that really such a bad thing? "They were just going to kill us, anyway."

Jack shook his head. "You can't just assume that, especially not when we have the prisoner as leverage."

"It didn't work, though," Andrew reminded him quietly. "Jenny was still shot."

Charlie and Ellie's eyes flashed to each other.

"But she survived," Jack reminded him. "They shot one of us, but didn't even kill her. And our payback is killing five of them?"

"No," Jake said, "they caused our ship to crash, they kidnapped Charlie and Claire, they kidnapped Walt, they kidnapped several of the tail survivors of your plane, _and _they attempted to kill Charlie. I'm probably forgetting stuff, to." He took a breath. "Our payback for _that _was killing five of them."

"He's right," Andrew said.

"You'd think so!" Charlie blurted out.

Ellie sighed. "Charlie," she muttered, "we're not sure yetYou can't just say that!"

But Jack was already facing Charlie again, a questioning look on his face. "What are you implying?" Jack asked slowly.

Charlie shrugged, sending Ellie an _I'm-sorry-but-it-must-be-said _look. He turned back to Jack and said, "Andrew had a metal baseball bat before the trip. And judging the circumstances and his opinions, I'd say he did it."

**Near the Others' Camp**

"Don't do this," Alex begged, but Kate was already tying her wrists together behind her back, and Sawyer was keeping the knife poised at her throat.

"I really am sorry," Kate said. "I don't want it to be this way. But we need to talk to them, and we need to get you back to an environment where you can be brought up the right way."

Alex said nothing as the Others began to walk up to them.

"She isn't your leader," Sawyer said once enough of them were looking at him, "but she's young, and she's one of your few 'next generation' members. Are you going to let her die?"

"You wouldn't kill her," someone shouted.

Kate lifted an eyebrow, hoping to sound convincing. "You sure about that? We killed five others without hesitating, didn't we?" She didn't mention that she was completely against this and still couldn't believe it had been done, especially not being talked through first.

Her mini-speech obviously worked, because those with guns slowly lowered them.

"Now, we don't want to kill anyone, as you know," Kate said, a rush of adrenaline coming to her that also came with a rush of guilt as Alex struggled with her wrists. "And we don't want to keep Henry—er, your leader—in our prison. So if you just agree to help get us off the island, then once the rescue comes, we'll let Alex and your leader go."

"We won't hurt you," said the second-in-command that Kate had seen the first time. "But we're not letting you off this island. It would risk exposure to this island, which can never happen. Our leader and Alex would both die for that cause, and we will let them."

Kate shook her head as Sawyer kept the knife at Alex's quivering throat. "How can anyone be so cruel?" she asked softly, her green eyes filled with disappointment.

"We got it," snarled one of the Others, "from the rest of the world. And we're here to escape from it. So as you can see, we don't care what you do: you are not getting off this island, and neither are we."

Kate glanced at Sawyer, unsure of what to do next. This wasn't what she'd had in mind.

"Let's just take her back," he told her. "We'll tell Doc and the others what happened. And we'll probably start a war. Because, goddammit, I am getting off this island."

**The Beach**

"Is that true?" Jack asked Andrew.

Andrew looked petrified. "No!" he said quickly. "I haven't used that bat since we crashed! I mean, I remember it was in my suitcase, but I didn't use it…someone could've easily taken it…"

"See?" Ellie whispered. "We're not even sure it's him."

Charlie said nothing.

"Whoever did this," Jack shouted, "we have bigger problems to worry about than you. Chances are, if Kate and Sawyer don't succeed in whatever it is we're doing, we're just going to get into a war, anyway. But the difference is that that's playing as a team, and this was solo murder. I'm not going to hurt you or put you in the cell. Just admit that you did it."

No one said anything. Andrew looked scared, but Ellie didn't think it was because he was worried about being caught. He just looked worried about being framed.

"Jake? Claire?" Jack asked, sounding tired. "Both of you were for this. Just admit it if you did it."

Claire's big blue eyes were wide and scared, but she said nothing, and again Ellie didn't think it was her. Jake didn't look scared, but he shook his head casually. Ellie couldn't imagine that he would be so calm after killing five people, so she crossed him out, too.

Jack looked supremely annoyed. "We have much bigger things to worry about than this," he said, "but none of us are going to trust anyone else if you don't be the bigger person and admit what you did." He circled, scanning everyone's face, hoping he could convince them. But no one said anything.

"Five people are dead, Jack," Ellie finally said. "Who could possibly admit to being the cause of it?"

A few people looked accusingly at her, but they knew she wouldn't have done it, especially those from Emory. They knew that Ellie had faced death in her life before and that she would never wish it on anyone.

"If you want to get off this island," Jack said, obviously not giving up, "then you're going to have to work together in this everlasting battle. And by working together we'll have to know what to expect from each person. If someone doesn't confess, we're going to expect that every person here is a murderer. We can't work together that way. At least if you confess, we'll know what to expect, how to station you, and what to tell you to do."

Finally, amidst the dead silence, came a reply: "I killed them."

**Somewhere in the Jungle**

Night had fallen—the _Expedition _survivors' fifth night—and the trio had stopped for camp. Sawyer and Kate both knew that it was a bad idea, but they needed rest from their day-long journey.

"She's already asleep," Kate said, cocking her head at Alex, who was resting peacefully. She didn't look mad with the situation. She actually looked almost excited, if she wasn't so scared of what the Others would do if she switched sides.

"You should go to sleep, too," Sawyer said gently. "I'll stay up."

Kate, who had been adding logs to the fire, sat down on the ground next to him, letting her back rest on his chest. "Let's just both stay up," she said. "We've been gone for a whole day and we still haven't even talked about…" She stopped talking.

Sawyer grinned, putting his arm around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Us?" he finished for her, enjoying the romantic moment. He was surprising himself, not to mention Kate, with what a romantic he was turning out to be.

Kate smiled softly, even though they were both facing the same direction. "I'm sorry I left," she said quietly, her soft eyes focusing on the flickering flames.

Sawyer stroked her arm gently. "I'm sorry I drove you to leave," he replied.

"At least we're both together now," she said, her eyelids starting to droop. "I've got to tell you, it's a lot better than being by myself."

"Oh, c'mon, you'd still have little Frenchie without me," he reminded her jokingly, referring to Alex.

Kate chuckled, but said sleepily, "You know it wouldn't be the same."

Sawyer thought of all the things he wanted to say to her. The two most important things he could think of were also very hard. He wanted to apologize to her for that dreaded day back before he left on the raft, when the two were bickering cruelly at each other, fighting for a spot on the raft. He'd never forgiven himself for that. The other thing, again, was to tell her that he loved her. But Kate was so used to running away that he didn't want to scare her and give her the chance. But whether he wanted to say anything or not, it didn't matter, because she was already asleep.

He glanced down at her, tousling her long, curly brown hair, and leaned back, his eyes facing the stars, enjoying the perfect moment. But he was interrupted by the snapping of twigs and several whispers.

"Are they asleep?"

"I think so."

"Then go ahead, take Alex back! And once you have her, kill them both!"

**The Beach**

The second Jake said it, everyone seemed to back away from him.

"_Why_?" Ellie demanded, feeling terrible for accusing Andrew.

Jake looked angry with them for being angry with him. "Because I _had _to!" he said. "I was just batting some pine cones into the water out of sheer boredom that night, and then I turned around, and there were five Others there!"

"Did they try to hurt you?" Jack asked him immediately.

Jake glanced down.

"Well?" Charlie demanded.

"No," Jack admitted. "They were headed toward the hatch and whispering stuff about killing whoever was waiting there. But think about it—I saved you and Locke, and I stopped them from taking Henry back!"

"Did you ever consider that we could just hurt them, lock them up, and have six hostages?" Jack suggested hotly. "Wouldn't that have been a little better?"

Jake didn't say anything.

"He was just trying to help," Claire finally said. "I know it was wrong, but I can see how he thought it was right. You shouldn't yell at him like this. What's done is done."

Jack waited a second and nodded. "Fine," he said, and turned to the crowd. "Now you all know," he told them, and left.

Charlie and Ellie left to apologize to Andrew while Jake walked up to Claire.

"Thanks," Jake said softly. "I really appreciate it." He touched her arm softly.

Claire snapped her arm back, but his soft, heated moves were sickeningly similar to Thomas's. How could her heart flutter so wildly for someone so terrible? "I didn't do it for you," she said. "I did it because they could've hurt my baby, and you stopped them." That was, really, the only reason she'd ever wanted the Others dead. They'd taken Rousseau's baby, and she had an everlasting fear that they'd take Aaron, too. Seeing five of them dead had been reassuring, if nothing else.

But she _hadn't _done it for Jake. She'd done it for her son, who mattered more to her than anyone else.

**Somewhere in the Jungle**

Sawyer didn't want to wake Kate, but he knew there was no other choice. He quickly nudged her. "Get up," he whispered urgently, and grabbed his gun from the back of his pants. Kate looked around, saw the Others nearing them, and shot up like a bullet. She grabbed her gun and stood in front of Alex, who had woken up but said nothing.

"Go away," she snarled. "We've got your leader _and _your teenager. Do you really want to fight us?"

As they glanced amongst each other, Kate realized that they didn't care at this point. Kate glanced questioningly at Sawyer, who was dangerously close to one of them. She noticed that his gun was down and started to say something, but it was too late—quick as a flash of lightning, one of the Others grabbed Sawyer by his long, tangly blond hair and held a gun to his head. "Drop your gun," the Other ordered to Kate.

Kate didn't hesitate—her gun fell to the floor.

As soon as the Others aimed their guns at Kate, a loud clap of thunder sounded, and rain suddenly began to pour. The Other holding Sawyer jumped as the thunder sounded, releasing Sawyer's hair momentarily. He shot his gun the second Sawyer moved, causing Kate to scream, but Sawyer was able to duck. The bullet was safely a few feet above his head.

The Others started to run toward them anyway, since Kate and Sawyer had no weapons, but they tripped over a long above-ground root. Each one of them stumbled, giving Sawyer and Kate time to retrieve their guns. The Others finally dropped their guns and raised their hands above their heads.

"Have you ever heard thunder here?" asked one of them in disbelief. "I didn't know the island thundered."

"Oh, so now we're talking?" Sawyer asked with a snort as he tightly tied each of their wrists behind their backs.

"He's right," Kate muttered, "it's never thundered before. And what was with the root out of nowhere?"

Sawyer hadn't heard Jenny's declaration before, but he made the same one now. "I think," he said, "that the island's fed up with them. Freckles, I think it's on our side now."

Kate smiled, reassured by this fact. "Finally, an ally," she sighed, and turned to Alex. "You could be, too," she said, but Alex said nothing.

"Hey," Sawyer said, his eyes fixing themselves on Kate's. "Back there, when they told you to drop your gun. You didn't have to. You could've saved yourself."

Kate just gave him a sarcastic look. "You _really _think I'd do that?" she asked in a teasing way, but her eyes were full of affection.

"I guess not," he admitted. "I just… I'm not used to it, Freckles."

"Then get used to it," she suggested, and stood on her toes to finally get her third kiss from him. And even though the four Others and Alex were groaning from around them, they didn't care. Because they were together, and that was all that mattered.

**END OF CHAPTER NINE**

I've done a lot of Sawyer/Kate and not very much Ellie/Charlie, I know, but TRUST me, I LOVE writing the Ellie/Charlie. It's my favorite part. So there'll be more. Next chapter will have some, and the two chapters after that will be pretty much the defining Charlie/Ellie chapters. Just a heads-up.

There's also a whole lot of action in the next few chapters, so if you like that, be sure to read. Well, I hope you'll read anyway, but…eh, you know. Anyway, here are my beautiful reviewers' responses.

**Charlotte Temples: **Your review made me so happy. It was so long and pretty and positive and encouraging. So you're awesome. ANYWAY, I update fast, so you won't have to be waiting too long for each chapter. And I TOTALLY agree with you about Charlie. Of course, I love him WAY more than anyone else, seeing as how I am freakishly obsessed with him. I once drew (on the back of a Blue Ribbon Grill kids' menu) a picture of a guitar, microphone, and amp, plus a sign that said DRIVESHAFT and a border around the whole thing out of the words "I LOVE CHARLIE PACE." It's hung up in my room now. Heh. Anyway, back to the point… I'm glad you like Ellie—I always try to make my OC's likeable, since that's not the reason readers read Lost fanfics. And I'm sorry about your ex-boyfriend (he sounds like a jerk), and he DOES sound disturbingly like Jake. Anyway, this is VERY long, so I'm going to wrap it up. Thanks, and bye!

**xlostangelx: **You're becoming a lovely faithful reviewer too. Thank you mucho. Anyway, your idea is AWESOME. For my stories I just have a little outline saying chapter names and a little about what happens in each chapter and expand it from there, but I hadn't come up with how Sawyer would tell Kate he loved her, and I love your idea, so I probably will use it. (That was SUCH an awesome scene, the I Never.) Thanks a ton for the idea and the review!

**astronomylover: **You're back! Well, here is the chapter dedicated to you (and the 2nd-longest one yet). Hope it's worthy! I think it's great that you review people's stories for praise, because reviews are my favorite (and only) form of praise for my story. I hope you liked the Sawyer/Kateness—it was a little too cliché and then a little too cocky in my opinion, but hopefully both in a good way. Anyway, hope you liked your chapter, and thanks so much!

**samdean4567: **Welcome back! Thanks!

**meangenius: **Thanks for all your awesome reviews—you're caught up now! Woot-woot! Anyhoo, sorry about the getting-shot-and-leaving thing, but I guess I figured they wouldn't come back after they shot Jenny. Whatever. And there was a lot of Skate that should keep you occupied in this one, and there's a lot of Chellie in the next chapter, so you can look forward to it.

THANKS TO ALL MY BEAUTIFUL, FANTASTIC, AWESOME, TUBULAR, RADICAL REVIEWERS.

If you want to be that awesome, you can review, too.

Until chapter 10—  
KISSBANGX3

PS: Blue button. Er, periwinkle button. W/e. It's your friend. :P


	10. Preparation

Just so everyone knows, the last chapter was about the halfway point… well, a little past it, I guess, since there will be 17 chapters if I don't change anything. But the story's already like 60 pages on my computer, so I think that's long enough, eh? Well, here's the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost or Driveshaft, but I would willingly be their groupie if they were a real band. Oh, and I don't own any of the bands Ellie and Charlie talk about, or the Led Zeppelin song I used.

Chapter Ten: Preparation

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

Ellie had spent almost all of the past day with Charlie, and she had enjoyed it, but she felt like it had at least partially gone to waste. If all they were ever going to be was friends, then it was fine, but if they ever wanted to be anything more, yesterday hadn't helped much. Ellie still couldn't decide if she wanted to take the risk with another guy yet, but she knew that if she did, Charlie would be the one.

It was the sixth morning. Early in the morning, Ellie had spent a little time with Charlie tuning their guitars and trading picks, but they hadn't played or kissed. She was glad, but also a little disappointed. She'd like him since she crashed, but she started liking even more when he stopped her from making what would've been the biggest mistake of her life.

Now she was spending some time with Jenny, trying to keep her mind off things, because Andrew was out getting her some more medicine. They were talking fairly casually, and Ellie still felt hugely relieved that she was able to have _any _conversation with Jenny.

"So are you and Charlie a couple yet?" Jenny asked with a small grin in her soft, weak voice.

Ellie laughed gently from next to the resting girl. "It's complicated," she explained. It actually wasn't that complicated, but it had only been six days, so she couldn't expect things to go too quickly.

"Do you _want _to be with him?" Jenny asked, her hazel eyes shining.

Ellie considered the question. "Yeah," she said after a second, "I guess I do." But her voice was hesitant, and Jenny gave her a look.

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked interestedly.

Ellie bit her lip. "I'm sure that I like Charlie," she finally said, "but I'm not sure I want to—or know how to, for that matter—be in a relationship."

"Right," Jenny said with a nod. "Because your relationship with Jake really screwed you up."

Ellie laughed slightly, not commenting on her relationship with Jake. Instead she asked, "I'm sorry, did you say you wanted to be a scientist or a psychologist?"

Jenny laughed, too, then her face grew serious. "I'm just glad I can be anything," she said softly.

Ellie smiled sadly. "If there's anyone who deserves that choice," she said, "it's you."

Her words surprised both of them, but Ellie was glad she had said them. She felt like a much more caring, mellow person just from a change over the past few days. Back in the old says, she'd probably be shunning Jenny because everyone expected her to feel bad for her. But now Ellie was spending time with her friend, and it was quality time that she genuinely enjoyed. Ellie hoped that her good changes were also signs that she was ready for a new, actual relationship.

Just as Charlie entered her thoughts again, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," Ellie called with a sigh, glad that he was there but disappointed that her meaningful conversation with Jenny was cut short.

"Hey," Charlie greeted. "Jack said he wanted to have another of those important meetings. I guess I'm the messenger."

Ellie snorted. "Yeah, 'cause the last one turned out well," she said, cocking her head in Jenny's direction.

Charlie nodded. "I know. But apparently they're giving a gun to every one of us and showing us how to use them."

Ellie raised her eyebrows. "Is it really _that _dangerous?"

He nodded again. "Apparently. As soon as Sawyer and Kate get back, we're going to decide whether or not to just go in and attack them."

"That's suicide!" Ellie retorted, standing up. Jenny watched her lazily from the floor.

Charlie shrugged. "It's dangerous, but we _do _have a lot of guns and a lot of very determined people."

Ellie considered this, and she had to admit, he was right. "Fine, but I don't think we should do anything until Kate and Sawyer get back."

**Heading to the Beach**

"You know what the saddest part of this is?" Sawyer asked Kate as they walked back to the beach. They were a strange-looking parade: Sawyer yanking along three tied-up Others, and Kate gently pulling Alex with her right hand and yanking at an Other with her left.

"What?" Kate asked.

"They're probably still gonna try and kill us."

Kate knew he was right. Even though they had five Others (including their leader) captive, they'd killed five, and they had Alex, the Others would still probably fight them. Because the survivors couldn't kill as easily as the Others.

"So what are you suggesting?" Kate asked. "A war? We wouldn't stand a chance."

"I think we would," Sawyer objected. "We just need to spring it on them when they least expect it."

"Really," Kate said with a hardly-interested look.

He nodded. "If we entered their camps at a completely random time—one we couldn't tell these guys, mind you, 'cause they'll use their cute little psychic powers to tell them—then we could kill the majority of them and fight the rest."

"But that's murder," Kate argued. "We can't just stoop to their level and murder them." She frowned. "Not more than we already have," she added, remembering what Alex had told her.

"Freckles, do you want to get off this island?" Sawyer asked her, stopping and facing her.

She nodded. She could see the beach by now, but she didn't want to have to tell Jack that they were starting a war. "Yeah," she said.

"Then we're gonna have to kill them."

"We can't kill _all _of them," Kate said. "That's like wiping out an entire race."

Sawyer shrugged. "How 'bout a deal?" he suggested. "If they surrender, they live, but then if they don't help us get off this island, we kill them."

Kate looked up at him sadly and nodded. She knew he was right.

**The Beach**

Just as Charlie and Ellie were coming out of the college students' tent, Kate and Sawyer stumbled out of the jungle with four Others and Rousseau's daughter. Ellie gasped and grabbed Charlie's arm, getting his attention. He quickly turned to the beach and shouted, "Jack! Locke! They're back!"

A crowd gathered around Kate, Sawyer, and their captives as they exhaustedly reached the sand.

"Good job," Jack said in congratulations, and took two of the Others. "Locke," he said, "get the other two. We'll take them to the Hatch with Henry. Sayid, can you try to find Rousseau?"

"Rousseau," Alex whispered to Kate. "Isn't that my mother?"

Kate smiled a small smile and nodded.

Locke and Jack left for the hatch, and Sayid entered the jungle to find Rousseau.

Kate and Sawyer, now free of the captives, were bombarded by questions from the survivors.

"Shut up!" Sawyer shouted recklessly after a few minutes of dizzy shouting. The crowd, which basically consisted of all the survivors minus Jack, Locke, Sayid, Andrew, and Jenny, hushed.

"We need Jack and Locke," Jake was saying. "Those two don't know what they're doing!"

"Remember what happened _last _time we listened to Jack and ignored Kate?" Ellie demanded. "Jenny almost died!"

Jake's temple pulsed, and he said nothing.

Kate smiled in gratefulness at Ellie and turned to everyone. "Look," she said, "Sawyer and I just brought you four Others and Alex. If you still don't want to listen to us, fine. We can't control that. But if you want to hear us out, tell us."

Everyone murmured quietly under their breaths, and a basically unanimous decision was made as they all nodded to Kate. She turned to Sawyer, still gently grasping Alex's arm. Sawyer nodded at Kate, encouraging her to just say what was on her mind."

"We now have five of them captive and one of their children," Kate said to the crowd, but not in a proud way. "But they still aren't going to stop. Because they're _evil. _And even though none of us want a war, I think that's the only thing that will ever stop them."

Everyone burst into argument. The small groups broke off into discussions. Despite the strange past the foursome had, Charlie, Claire, Ellie, and Jake were still standing together, debating what Kate was saying.

"We can't have a _war_," Charlie said flatly. "This is the bloody island! We're not even in the real world!"

"Maybe that's why Kate's suggesting it," Claire said timidly. "Because in real life, we'd have to sort this out peacefully, but everything's different here."

Jake looked mad. "So Jack yells at me for killing them, and then Kate asks us to start a war?"

"They can have different opinions," Ellie said. She felt bad that she always contradicted him, but she found his opinions to be at least a tad bit blasphemous. "Kate hasn't even pitched the idea to Jack yet. I like it better this way—we're not being left in the dark."

"He does have a slight point, though," Claire said. "I mean, just that everyone was practically shunning Jake for killing five of them, and now they're telling us to kill _all _of them."

As they continued debating it, Sun translated for Jin, who looked like he would participate, but as usual, he wanted his wife to stay alone and stay safe.

Hurley and Michael were both opposed to war, Michael because of Walt and Hurley because he knew that if he was around, he'd bring nothing but bad luck to all his allies.

Finally they turned their attention back to Kate.

"I know this is a huge change from everything we've been telling you, and I admit I feel really hypocritical when I say we should start a war. I remember that I was actually against the distribution of guns to form an army, but that was before I knew everything they had done, and that they were a part of everything—the monster, the reason we crashed, the kidnappings… everything."

"She's got a point," Ellie admitted, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Rose looked disappointed, but she stayed out of the way of the other survivors for the most part, and that was what she was planning on doing. Bernard, on the other hand, looked furious. He didn't mind staying on the island any more—it had, after all, healed his wife—and the thought of murder and death just to get off made him even more furious.

"We can't just kill," he shouted, "to get off the island! Rescue will come some day, and until then, we need to sit it out!"

"I wish that was an option," Kate said calmly, "but at the rate the Others are going at, we'll all be dead by then."

Jack was walking back toward the gathered crowd, the Others safely in the hatch with Locke standing guard.

"What's going on?" he asked, standing next to Kate.

"Katie here is proposing a war," Bernard said bitterly.

Jack turned quickly to Kate. "_What_?" he asked in disbelief. "_You_? I thought you were against this."

Kate looked tired of arguing her point, but she knew she'd have to. "Things have changed," she said, "and I don't think we have another choice. Look, I know it scares you. It scares me, too. In the real world, none of this would have happened. But this isn't the real world. It's the island."

Claire nodded, since this was the kind of thing she'd been saying.

"Those people—the Others—have killed us," Kate was saying. "And hurt us. They tried to kill Charlie, they kidnapped Claire, Aaron, and Walt, as well as Libby and Ana Lucia…" She looked down as she repeated the list. "And now Jenny. You all know they won't stop there. You have to understand—it's not a matter of civility any more. We fight back or we die." The crowd looked almost convinced, but Jack didn't.

"Kate," he said, "this could be suicide."

"Or it could be our only hope." Kate shrugged and looked up at him. "Live together, die alone, right?"

Jack felt his heart tug at the memories of him and Kate, but he knew things were much too complicated to start a relationship, especially on the island. Jack wasn't the kind of guy who needed a girl to define him, really, and he liked it that way. He had everyone on the island depending on him, and that was definitely enough.

"All right," he said quietly, and it meant more than just all right to war. It was, to both of them, a way of moving on and accepting the fact that Kate was with someone new now. Sawyer noticed it, too, and said nothing to make Jack mad. He'd learned his lesson there, and he knew that Jack didn't deserve it.

"So what?" Bernard asked. "So Jack agrees and Kate agrees. It doesn't matter what we want, right? We'll just fight in your stupid war for you?"

Jack sighed. "We can't make you fight," he said.

"But your starting a war affects all of us," Michael reminded him.

"Okay," Kate shouted over the arguments, "let's just work this out in the best way possible. We'll take a vote and decide that way." She didn't say it as a question, and on command, everyone seemed to agree.

"Everyone," Kate shouted, "who is for the war, whether you will participate or not, raise your hands."

There were seventy-five people on the island now—forty-three flight 815 survivors and thirty-two college students—and seventy-one were present (all but Locke, Sayid, Andrew, and Jenny). At least twenty hands shot up in the air including Kate, Jack, Sawyer, Jake, Claire, Sun, Jin, and Hurley.

"Hurley," Michael whispered, "I thought you were against this."

"Dude, they make some good points," Hurley said with a shrug, and kept his arm up. He'd just have to stay far away from everyone else during the war.

"C'mon," Claire urged Ellie and Charlie, "please put your hands up. Do you really want to be stuck on the island for the rest of your lives?"

Ellie glanced at Charlie. They were both considering it. "I have a really bad feeling about this," Ellie said, referring to the churning in the pit of her stomach whenever war was mentioned. "I'm not sure if they're taking this seriously."

"On the other hand, are _we _taking the _Others _seriously?" Charlie asked her, raising a fair point. "They'll just end up killing us, anyway. It's kind of one way or the other."

Ellie glanced around at the faces urging her on. Normally she'd keep both hands deep in her pockets, but again, she was different now. She lifted her arm, noticing in surprise how extremely weightless it felt, and Charlie did the same.

For some reason, Ellie and Charlie's discussion had an effect on others, who also rose their hands. The crowd was up to about half-and-half.

Finally there were about ten people who, after talking about it for a few minutes, raised their hands. The deal was done: over half of the survivors had decided on war.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

Everyone had filled Jenny and Andrew in on everything. They'd given Andrew the option of staying with Jenny, but he wanted revenge, and Jenny agreed that he should fight with them. Now several scattered college students sat in the tent including Jenny, Andrew, and Ellie. Charlie was with her, and they were strumming at their scales together.

"So," Charlie said to Ellie casually as they strummed over their notes and chords, "are you going to fight in the war?"

Ellie nodded. She'd never been a major feminist, but she'd certainly never been an antifeminist, and she didn't think it was right for just guys to go. "Yeah, I will," she said. She wasn't looking forward to it, but she wouldn't mind helping them for a change. "You?"

Charlie nodded, too. "Yep. I'm one of the few people on this bloody island that can hold a gun, a fact that seems to be thrown in my face a lot."

Ellie laughed casually, but stopped herself. "I… I just keep telling myself this is another little game, you know? But it's not. We could all just die, and there'd be no one left to look for."

"There'd be Bernard," Charlie joked, but he quickly stopped himself. "I know what you mean," he said instead. "But look on the bright side—if we do win, we'll be able to go through their camps and search for anything that signals with the outside world."

"Plus they have their psychics," Ellie said, surprised at how there was almost no doubt in her voice as she said it. "We could try to get them to help."

Charlie nodded and leaned back, silently observing Ellie.

She lifted her eyebrows and looked up at him curiously. "What?" she asked.

He shrugged. "You seem so different now," he said. She tilted her head, and he quickly added, "Not in a bad way. You just seem less uptight and reserved, you know?"

Ellie nodded. "I feel like it, too. I guess the island is just more relaxing."

"Maybe for you," Charlie said with a sigh. "I suppose I could've stopped myself from that fight with Jake, eh?"

Ellie frowned. "Yeah, but he did kind of lead it on. Let's just not talk about it."

She looked disappointed at the memory, just as Charlie felt ashamed at the memory. "I really am sorry for that," he said. "I know you're not the kind of girl who appreciates this, and I didn't do it to make you appreciate me, but I was fighting for you."

Ellie kept her eyes locked on his. "For me," she repeated, setting her guitar down beside her. Charlie followed suit as she asked, "How do you figure?"

"I mean, it wasn't like I thought I'd _get _you if I beat him up," Charlie explained in a rush, "but I thought he was being a bloody lunatic about how he was treating you, and I got really mad, and I figured that somehow if I hurt him enough, he'd hurt you less."

He was being so bold with his words. Ellie wasn't good at being bold with her words, but she was good at being bold with her moves, and she suddenly felt a wave wash over her to kiss him—again. But just as she leaned forward, she stopped herself and leaned back. As was custom, her eyes wavered and sank to the ground, thinking.

"Ellie?" Charlie asked caringly.

"Sorry," she said, her face turning red. "It's just that last time that happened, we determined that you were my rebound boy, and I really don't want to treat you badly."

"Do you still feel that way about me?" Charlie asked. He felt like an artist interpreting a new piece of work as he looked at her. He had to figure out what each expression and each glance of her eyes meant, or he wouldn't understand her as a whole. And he desperately wanted to.

She raised her eyes to his again, looking through his baby blues and into his heart. He was such a good, committed, funny, and deep guy that she felt like she didn't deserve him. Most people said there was a lot to Ellie, but she knew the truth: there was almost _nothing _to her. She was just simple: she did what was unexpected, and didn't care about reactions. She didn't have quirky, entwined motivations for things. She just did them without thinking. It was all a misunderstanding, and she didn't want Charlie to be dragged to where Jake had once been dragged.

Charlie changed the subject slightly, but she had a feeling that it had to do with their conversation at hand. "You know what I think about relationships?" he asked her. She shrugged and he continued. "People read so much into them and ponder them so deeply that they waste them. Like, you're probably wondering who's better than whom and what'll happen if one of us dies and what'll happen when we get back to the island, right?"

She shrugged again. "Kinda," she admitted, listening closely to him.

"But if relationships really are based on love, then why do we ask all those questions? Those questions don't determine love. Love is its own thing, right? Its own spontaneous, point-blank, no-questions-asked, nothing-more-to-it thing."

This was a lot like how Ellie had just been assessing herself. She also managed to grasp his point.

"So," he said, "why don't you just give us a chance?"

She wondered if that had been his own cocky way of saying he loved her, and instantly stiffened. She could deal with a relationship with him—she could enjoy it, actually—but love? After six days?

"I'm not going to scare you and tell you I love you, if that's what your worried about," Charlie said, but fondness was written on his face as he said instead, "But as I said before, I like you a lot. And you know why the stuff about love comes in handy?"

Ellie felt her brain and heart spinning as she interpreted everything. She shook her head in response to his question. She hoped he didn't mind doing all the talking, because her throat felt so prickly, she couldn't get a sound out.

"Because I want you to give me the chance to learn to love you," he finished, smiling at her.

It wasn't too much commitment for her to fear, and it wasn't too bland for her to shake off. It was perfect, and Ellie decided that if he knew her well enough to say all of that and have it hit her the right way, he knew her well enough to start a real relationship with her.

"I'm sorry I kept treating you so badly," she said softly. "First with the making fun of Driveshaft, and then the rebound boy thing… you never deserved it."

Charlie shook his head, his eyes smiling but his face serious. He touched the side of her head with his hand, tucking her long red hair behind her ear. "Don't apologize," he said softly. "Our twisted history will always be there, but we don't have to care."

She smiled. "I like that," she said. All she had to care about was the situation at hand: the romantic kiss that she was sharing with him, the start of a new relationship, with nothing to worry about.

Well, besides the upcoming war.

**The Hatch**

"Are you serious?"

Locke's reaction wasn't exactly what Jack was hoping for, but it was just what he had expected.

"Do you remember what happened last time we fought over distributing guns?" Locke demanded. "Sun could've died. Sawyer ended up with all the guns. Locke's reaction wasn't exactly what Jack was hoping for, but it was just what he had expected.

"Do you remember what happened last time we fought over distributing guns?" Locke demanded. "Sun could've died, and Sawyer ended up with all the guns. Do we really need that again?"

"This is different," Jack argued. Kate had offered to join him in convincing Locke, but this was something he had to do on his own.

"Really," Locke said skeptically.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Because if we don't fight them, we're all going to die, anyway, especially with Henry and the other Others captive."

Locke snorted. "So you're suggesting we free them?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I'm suggesting we fight a war that should've been fought a long time ago."

Locke stared at him for a moment, deep in thought, and finally decided that it was the right thing to do. Jack was right—it was pretty much either certain death (no war) or possible death (war).

"Okay," Locke finally said. "We'll do it. Are you sure Sawyer will give you his guns?"

Jack looked pained. "Yeah. Kate'll get him to."

**Sawyer's Tent**

Sawyer and Kate were sitting in Sawyer's tent together, loading guns and sharpening knives, talking lightly. Alex was timidly sitting in the corner, one wrist tied up. None of them wanted to tie her up, but they knew that if they didn't, she'd dart out of there.

Finally Kate brought up a more serious matter than small talk.

"What if something happens?" she asked Sawyer uncertainly.

"I sure hope something's gonna happen," Sawyer said with a snort. "If it doesn't, then honey, we are really screwed."

Kate laughed, but she straightened her back and said, "No. I mean what if our people die?"

"With luck, they won't. What'll probably happen is, some of 'em die, but it's for the greater good, eh, Freckles?"

Kate sighed. "You need to take this seriously," she pressured. "You've already been tortured and shot. Do you want anything _else _to happen?"

Sawyer grinned. "Ah, but see, I can't hold the torturing to them, 'cause that was Muhammad."

Kate bit her lip. "The point," she said, "is that either of us could die, and we really need to be careful."

Sawyer finally seemed to calm down. The thought of himself dying didn't seem to bug him much, but the thought of losing Kate was way too much for him.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

As was their custom at this point, Ellie and Charlie were sitting together, talking at a steady pace over the tuning and scaling of their guitars.

"If we die," Charlie informed her, "I'd love to have a good tune in mind."

Ellie laughed. "Like what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but you have to sing with me."

She shook her head. "C'mon, no."

"Who do you want?" Charlie asked, obviously pushing her. "Girls… Joan Jett? The Yeah Yeah Yeahs?" When she didn't say anything, he wrinkled his nose. "Not the Bangles…" She shook her head.

"Why don't _you _sing something," she demanded, "and I'll play?"

"How 'bout Blondie?" Charlie suggested eagerly.

"I'm not singing a girls' song," Ellie said with a shake of her head. "It's okay, really. Let's just play Ramones, or something."

"And die with that in my head?" Charlie snorted.

Ellie laughed. She loved being able to talk with him about things no one else would even understand. "You want a sad song?" she teased.

He nodded. "Yep. Drippy-sad."

She considered this. It would be perfect, she had to admit, to sing a drippy song with him at the start of a war. She shook the thoughts of war away—she wanted to have fun first. "If you want weirdly sad and emotional, there's _Babe I'm Gonna Leave You._"

Charlie grinned. "Awesome. A Led Zeppelin? Then you've got to bloody sing with me!"

Ellie nodded in defeat. "Okay," she said softly, not wanting to think about the war. All she wanted to think about was this.

**The Hatch**

Kate, Jack, Locke, Sawyer, Michael, and Jin had all met in the hatch to discuss the plan for the upcoming war. They were far away from the dungeon cell so that the prisoners couldn't hear them, and Sun was with Jin to translate. Sayid was still searching for Rousseau.

"So we're just going to hand out guns to anyone who wants one?" Michael asked. "Do we even have that many guns?"

Jack nodded. "We should. And Locke, we need you to distribute all the knives you have to the soldiers, and we should make sure that everyone _not _fighting also has a knife for self-defense."

Locke nodded. "I already gave them all to Kate, and she and Sawyer sharpened them all. We'll distribute them with the guns."

Kate took a notepad from a bookshelf, grabbed a pen that was near the computer, and asked, "Okay, who's going to be fighting?"

"We all are," Sayid said. Kate nodded and wrote their names down.

"Sun, I'm guessing you can't?" Kate asked, referring to Sun's pregnancy.

Jin immediately shook his head. Sun crossed her arms self-consciously. "I guess not," she said in defeat, resting her hand on her stomach, where her new baby was growing.

"Which of the college students?" Jack asked everyone.

"They all want to," Kate said. She'd been in the tent with Ellie and Charlie a lot, and she'd determined who was going and who was staying. "Jenny's staying, and her Andrew asked friend Natalie to stay to make sure she's okay. We're leaving a gun with Natalie, just in case. Everyone else is fighting."

Kate nodded and scribbled, _28 college students, _since there were thirty counting Jenny and Natalie.

They wrote down the rest of the people who were fighting. Even Bernard had caved. Rose, who was more about peace than fighting, agreed to stay behind with the others and help Natalie with Jenny.

"I guess that's it," Locke said when they were finished.

Jack nodded. "So we go in, surprise them, and fight for all we're worth?"

"We shouldn't kill the psychics, if we can help it," Kate said. "They're our best chance off the island."

"What a weird set of words," Sawyer mused. "'Off the island.'"

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

Led Zeppelin's _Babe I'm Gonna Leave You _didn't have much to do with war or their situation, but the mood of the song made everyone near them realize the deepness of the upcoming war. It made Ellie feel like crying for the second time since the island, and it made Charlie want to forget the war and keep Ellie safe. But he knew he couldn't, so he did the next-best thing: he played with her.

The guitar parts at the beginning were well-played and meaningful, but Ellie and Charlie sang the words together, as one, and Charlie wondered why she'd been hiding her voice. It wasn't like the singer's voice, but it fit the mood of the song, and she sang it with actual passion that Charlie doubted he had. But whatever the case, they sang together. By the time they were at the chorus, a tear was rolling down Ellie's cheek.

_Babe...I'm gonna leave you  
Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you  
Oh I can hear it callin 'me  
I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?_

Just like _You All Everybody, _the music seemed to roll around the whole island, affecting the people on the beach and even the people in the hatch from a distance. It was hardly scientifically possible that they would hear it, but they did, and it brought everyone to silence: the beginning of a war, and the smallest piece of hope.

_Baby, baby, baby, baby, I don't want to leave you._

**END OF CHAPTER TEN**

I don't know if you've heard that song, but it ALWAYS makes me sad, and I thought somehow it fit in here. And next chapter, everyone, is War, Pt. I. After that? War, Pt. II, as you could guess. So keep reading & reviewing! Thanks, everyone! And here are your responses:

**meangenius: **It would be AWESOME if Alex killed Jake… but unfortunately that's not going to happen. Sorry. He's one of the unbearable characters you'll have to bear. This chapter had a lot of Chellie and a little Skate, so you should be happy. And Claire telling Jake off? She's done it before, and she'll do it again. Thanks, and keep reviewing!

**TweakyTree: **Aw, thanks! Hope you liked this chapter!

**samdean4567: **YAY, you're back again! Hi. Anyway, yeah, I'm not that great at the mystery thing, but I thought the Jake-being-the-killer would be, well, Jake-ish. Thanks!

**Redemption-Isle: **I think the idea behind Ellie was that she's not real or understandable, she's just different, and it's hard to figure her out. It's complicated to make a character like her, so I did the best I could. No, she's not a Mary Jane. Thanks for the advice and the comment… and I'm very sorry that my story made you "cringe."

**xlostangelx: **Ah, don't worry about rambling, it's fun to hear about people's lives. If you want my advice on the falling-for-a-guy-that's-not-your type thing, well, as long as he's not a BAD guy, I don't think it should matter. Follow your heart, not your guidelines! (pounds heart) Lol, that does sound like Claire. Anyway, thanks a ton, hope you liked it!

Thanks to EVERYONE—your reviews make me SO happy, and now there are a lot of really loyal people who keep coming back (meangenius, samdean4567, xlostangelx, and astronomylover, you're the best)! Of course, I love you if you drop one review, too. So danke. (Thanks in German.)

#(kissbangx3)#

Review please!


	11. War, Part I

Back again, now with the war chapter! I hope everyone enjoys… the war? Heh. Sorry if it's a little sad and negative, by the way, but really, it _is _a war chapter. To be fair.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Lost. _Wow… I think I'm out of silly disclaimer-comments.

Chapter Eleven: War, Part I

**The Beach**

Guns were being distributed.

Many, many guns were being put into the hands of people who had no idea how to use them. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, and Charlie were already walking around, explaining to people how to use them. As people nodded and listened, they seemed to look around, wondering if this was the last time they'd see all these faces together.

Just as almost everyone knew how to use a gun, Sayid came back next to an excited, desperate-looking Rousseau.

"Where is Alex?" she demanded in her French accent. Her eyes darted around, searching for a fifteen-or-sixteen-year-old girl.

Kate nodded to the others and turned to Rousseau. "Follow me," she said with a smile, and she led her back to Sawyer's tent. Sawyer followed, just in case.

"Okay," Jack shouted to the rest of the people, "we don't have a great plan, but we have a plan, and it's the best we can do."

Everyone listened intently while examining their guns.

"We're going to sneak as quietly as possible into their camp. Now, they'll be expecting something, so it won't be great. But the island should have a lot of cover for us, because as weird as this is to believe, it's on our side now, and it's going to help us win this war."

Everyone looked confused but somehow reassured by this news. Some of them had already heard Jenny say it, but those who hadn't now believed it, too.

"Once we find our places near the camp but not in it, we'll shoot as many people as we can who are standing outside." Everyone's breaths drew in at this—Jack was blatantly asking them to kill. "Now," he said, "if you can control your aim, try to shoot at legs, shoulders, or arms. Avoid the heart and the head. But if you can't, don't worry about it. It's to get us off the island, right?"

People nodded at this, seeming reassured.

"Once we do, they'll come out and find us. Stay hidden as long as you can, but if they get close to you, run and shoot. While you fight them, a small team of me, Kate, and Sawyer are going to search for the psychics." He didn't look thrilled with the thought of going somewhere with the happy couple, but he would if necessary.

"What about John and Sayid?" Michael asked. "They've got as much experience as you." He obviously also believed that psychics were their best bet off the island.

"Exactly," Jack replied. "You can't have all of us gone. John and Sayid are going to stay and fight. They'll be kind of like your generals."

Finally, after all the planning was done, it was agreed that they would have half an hour of talking and saying goodbye (just in case), and then they would meet up for the battle to save themselves.

**Sawyer's Tent**

Alex, wrist still tied to the tent, was drawing abstract designs in the sand with her free hand when Kate, Sawyer, and Rousseau walked in. When Rousseau laid her eyes on her long-lost daughter, she stopped moving and stared in disbelief.

Alex glanced up, wondering if this was possibly her mother.

"Alex?" Rousseau whispered in a quivering voice, her eyes fixed on the small, beautiful girl sitting in the sand, leaning against one of the plane seats Sawyer had taken.

Alex nodded, not saying a word. Rousseau slowly walked toward her daughter as Kate and Sawyer lingered at the entrance.

"Uh," Kate said softly, "Alex?"

Alex glanced at Kate as her mother slowly untied her half-a-handcuffed hand from the post of the fence (the other half was the one that had been around Jin's wrist).

"Just…" Kate sighed. "_Please _don't go back there."

Alex glanced at her mother, whose eyes were filled with love. "I won't," Alex promised. Once her hand was free, she hugged Rousseau. She'd never known her mother, and she hadn't expected to feel so attached to her, but now that she was here, she did. It was a stronger bond than she could possibly have with the Others.

Kate looked at Sawyer with a peaceful smile on her face.

"Some good came of this," she told him as the mother and daughter were reuniting. "We reunited a family."

Sawyer shrugged and nodded. "No dad, but it's an improvement."

Kate smiled and leaned her head on his broad shoulder. Watching Rousseau and Alex together made her feel like she almost had a family again. And leaning on Sawyer's shoulder with his hand in hers made her feel like she didn't _need _a family again. She had him.

**Claire's Tent**

"Hey," Jake greeted Claire hopefully as he walked into her tent. "Can we talk?"

Claire looked up at him and nodded. She didn't want to talk to him, but she also didn't want him to die and have their complicated situation on her shoulders for the rest of her life.

That seemed to be the reason a lot of people were getting along before the war: fear of death. It wasn't a good reason, but at least it was doing something.

"Look, I'm not asking you to give me a second chance, or whatever," he said first.

Claire nodded. "Good," she said. She wouldn't have given him one if he _had _asked. She'd be fine with being friends with Jake at times, because after all, he did care about her. But with Aaron and Ellie and the fight that had happened, she couldn't even begin to imagine a relationship with him, despite their kiss.

He looked put out at the throwback, but he accepted it. "I just want things to be cool with us before this war starts," he explained. "I mean, I'm assuming you're not fighting, right?"

"I'm staying with Aaron. But they're leaving me a gun, and they said that if anyone's outside my tent, I should shoot them."

Jake laughed slightly at the thought of seeing Claire with a gun, but he didn't comment on it. He was glad she wanted to help. "Well, I know this is kind of a stupid reason, but if something were to happen to either of us, I'd want us to end on good terms, you know?"

She nodded. She'd been thinking the same thing.

"So, if we do get off this island, keep in touch, okay?"

Claire smiled finally. About twenty people had already dropped by her tent with their phone numbers and asked her for hers. It wasn't a crush thing, it was a keep-in-touch-with-the-people-you-were-marooned-on-an-island-with thing. Still, she had a feeling that Jake was doing it for more than that.

A big part of her didn't want to keep in touch with him. She'd still talk to plenty of people on the island, but she wasn't sure about Jake. He'd bring back bad memories and temptations, and she knew that if she did try anything with him, it would end badly. She just couldn't trust her future self to resist doing anything with him.

"Sure," she said. She didn't ask for his number, and she didn't give him hers.

He looked like he wanted to ask, but he resisted. He decided that if he was desperate enough, he'd ask Ellie or Charlie later. "Okay," he said. "Well, I'm gonna go, but cross your fingers for me, okay?"

She smiled. "Okay."

He smiled and left, and she felt a tugging at her heart as she did so. Was there ever going to be a right guy for her? Thomas had left her, Charlie had lied to her and taken the statues, and Jake had cheated on his old girlfriend _and _started a fight. Weren't there any normal guys?

She smiled down at her baby. Aaron was normal. He was the only guy she needed.

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

"You ready?" Charlie asked Ellie. It had been twenty-five minutes, and everyone was gathering their weapons to leave.

Ellie glanced at Jenny, who was still lying down. Natalie was at her side, knife in hand, and Andrew was sharing a tearful good-bye with her.

"I keep telling myself I don't want to kill them," she said sadly, "but then I see Jenny and Andrew and I think of you and all the others they've hurt, and I want them to die. But should I really wish that on anyone?"

"Them? Yes." Charlie didn't say it in an evil way, but he sounded certain. "We've all agreed on it for a reason, Ellie. They're bad people, and the only way we can be safe is to have them…" He shrugged. "You know. Dead."

Ellie laughed. "That wasn't the best pep talk," she teased. "I guess Brits aren't very good at it." Her face grew serious. "Just promise me you'll stay with me, okay?" she asked.

"There's not a chance I wouldn't," Charlie promised. She smiled, and they both left.

**The Beach**

John Locke was standing at the head of the huge crowd, getting a taste of what Kate and Jack had been recently feeling, giving the instructions for their invasions. The crowd was lining up in single-file lines of five people each, so there were about fourteen lines. They were standing tall and bravely, actually resembling a real army about to fight a real war.

Each line had a leader who knew how to use a gun. Charlie was at the head of his line, with Ellie behind him. Behind her was Bernard, and behind him were two mid-thirties males from flight 815. Ellie and Charlie smiled at each other, showing that they were ready.

Jake was in a line with Michael as their leader, and they were talking nervously, trying to stay calm but both obviously scared. Walt was back with Claire, and Michael looked like he was worried sick. Along with them stood two smart, brave girls from the _Expedition_ and an older man who looked nervous.

Sayid and Jin were also at the heads of their lines, and there were several others who were trusted with being the heads for the rest of the lines.

Kate, Jack, and Sawyer stood a bit away from the lines, scanning the crowd to make sure they were ready while discussing their own plan.

"They're going to notice we're not with everyone else, fighting," Jack said. "They've seen us and talked to us, and they'll be waiting for us."

"I think they'll be a little busy fending off the seventy people shooting at them," Sawyer sarcastically to Jack. But Kate gave him a look, and he stopped smirking.

"Let's just stay as unnoticeable as possible and hope that we can find the psychics," Jack suggested, ignoring Sawyer's comment.

Kate nodded. "It's a plan," she said, loading her gun and stuffing some shells into her pack for later.

"Are they gonna go first?" Sawyer asked.

As if on cue, John put a finger to his lips and led them into the jungle. They all stayed in their lines, guns posed and at the ready, and they hardly made a sound as they marched into the jungle.

"_Now _we go," Jack said, and the three of them slowly followed into the jungle.

"You guys," Kate said softly, "we might actually win this."

**Near the Others' Camp**

They'd been walking for about an hour in the directions Kate and Sawyer had given them, and they could hear and see the Others' camp about half a mile ahead. John stopped walking, and so did everyone else. Kate, Jack, and Sawyer walked to the right of them, looking for a back way in.

"It's time for our lines to break apart," John said in a hushed voice. "Everyone go at a slightly different angle. _Don't let yourselves be seen. _I'll stay in the middle. When I raise my hands, shoot. Don't shoot before I do unless someone is coming at you."

They all nodded. This was it.

"Let's go," John whispered as loudly as was safe. They all walked speedily and silently through the jungle around the perimeter of the Others' camp. Their tree and bush covering was excellent, and John couldn't help but wonder if the island had done something to make them less visible.

Jack, Kate, and Sawyer were out of their sight now, but John trusted the island to keep them hidden for at least a while. He let his light sea-green eyes scan the camp. There were about six people with guns pacing around, presumably guards, but no one had seen them. He was too close to shout an order, but he was ready to raise his hands.

Once they shot the guards, he had a feeling that would be it. Everyone would know, and everyone would fight. And then they would have to hope for the best.

He drew in a deep breath and raised his hands.

The gunshots began.

**Search for the Psychics**

"It started," Kate whispered, glancing up at Sawyer. She was scared, and she could sense fear behind his baby blues, but she could also see that he was brave, and he was willing to fight for himself and for her.

Jack looked troubled, and not just because Kate and Sawyer were sharing yet another bonding moment. "I feel like we shouldn't be doing this," he told them. "We should be helping our allies, not searching for psychics. We don't even know who's psychic and who's not."

"Won't they be meditatin', or something?" Sawyer asked.

Kate laughed slightly as Jack rolled his dark eyes. "Or something," Jack replied.

Sawyer laughed for a moment, too, but went back to scanning the camp. "Okay, meditatin' losers… people with their eyes closed… maybe mouthing things…" He turned back to Jack and Kate. "Yeah, I don't see anything."

"They're probably keeping their psychics somewhere for safekeeping," Kate said, staying behind a thick tree covering as she heard gunshots and yelling. "We should go look around the camp—inside buildings and stuff."

"That's probably where the women and children are," Jack said. "We can't kill them unless they try to kill us, okay?" he added, looking meaningfully at Sawyer.

Sawyer nodded quickly. "Doc, you think I'm gonna kill a kid?"

Jack ignored him and turned back to Kate. "We'll all sneak into the first building." He pointed to a small hut near them. "If anyone sees us, I'll shoot. You two, just try to get in there."

"Why you?" Kate asked, obviously worried about him despite her relationship with Sawyer. "Why do you have to risk your life, and not us?"

Jack swallowed. "Because I don't have anyone to live for. You have each other."

**The Battle**

The first gunshots had gone very well—all six of the guards were down. As he took a second glance, John proudly noticed that almost all of them were too wounded to fight but not at serious risk of losing their lives. Once those six were shot, a few unarmed women came to see what had happened. John made an X with his arms, and no one shot. But many Others exited their huts and buildings with guns, and John quickly raised his hands again. This time, they shot.

The hiding was done, so the survivors started running into the camp, not looking too scared to fight. There were plenty of Others, but they were taking time getting out, and they didn't add up to the seventy survivors pointing guns at them.

John winced as many Others were shot—some in the heart—but still shot a few in the arms and legs himself, mostly in self defense as they tried to get near him. He glanced around and noticed with restoring strength that none of the survivors had been shot yet.

A yelp from Michael's line caused John to shoot his head around and see what happened, but just as he did, a bullet flew by his shoulder. It was within a mere inch of hitting him, and John wondered if it was the wind, blowing the bullet slightly off course. The island, he decided, was definitely their best ally.

He raised his gun again and shot at the man who had shot at him, but it was too fast, and the bullet only skimmed his hand. Luckily, John was able to shoot again, this time hitting his leg.

John turned back to Michael's line to see an older man on the ground, his hand on his heart. John had a feeling it wasn't because he was checking his pulse.

**Michael's Group**

"Sean?"

Jake shot randomly at a few people near them, but he had a feeling he'd missed. Still, his attention was on the man who had fallen to the floor, choking for breath and coughing up blood.

"Oh my God!" shouted one of the college girls from next to Jake. The girl, Paige, accurately shot an Other near her and knelt beside Sean, the old man. "Sean, please say something! Are you okay?"

"C'mon, Paige," Jake urged, his eyes searching the camp for someone else. The other clusters of five on their side looked like they were handling things, but since no one was near Jake, he aimed far away for someone else to shoot. Somehow killing an Other seemed to make up for them shooting Jenny and now Sean. Paige, however, didn't revert to revenge. She tried to heal.

"I told you we should've brought that vaccine!" she shouted to Michael, who was a little farther away from them. "It might've healed him!"

"There's only so much we can carry," Michael shouted back, his gun moving with his body as he tried to get a clear shot. "Can you just do your best to help him and keep defending yourself?"

"I can't help him!" Paige said frantically, trying to apply pressure to Sean's wound. "I'm not premed or anything… I was just taking the course for credits…"

"You're the smartest freaking girl in our dorm hall!" Jake objected. "Just do your best!"

His persistent urging wasn't helping, but Jenny did the best she could. She pulled a pair of tweezers that she'd brought in her pocked for this very reason, ripped the blood-stained part of Sean's shirt off, and gripped the bullet with the tweezers. She gently pulled it out, trying to block out his yelps of pain, as Jake and Michael stood around her in case anyone tried to shoot them.

Along with the bullet came a lot of blood, but Paige but a lot of pressure on it, trying to keep it in.

"Hang in there," she whispered desperately. "Please."

Sean's eyes drooped and closed. "Have fun back in the real world," he whispered, and his body seemed to loose its tension. Paige frantically checked for a pulse, keeping the wad of cloth against his wound, but she determined that he was dead.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she knew she had to get up and fight. This wasn't right—she wasn't a soldier, and neither was anyone else on the island—and yet it was. Sean, along with all the others who had been hurt or killed on the island, wanted them off. And as respect for them, Paige thought as she reloaded her gun, she was going to win this war.

**Charlie's Group**

"Charlie," Ellie said shakily as she fought desperately to keep the Others far away from her, "did someone just die?"

Charlie's face looked hard as he aimed and shot. The process was depressing and maddening, but it was what he had to do. "I don't know," he said sadly, and finally turned to look at her. Bernard and the mid-thirties men were covering them for the moment. "We have to keep fighting," he urged. "You can do it. We both can." The look in his electric blue eyes was faithful, but Ellie felt her eyes shifting over to Michael's group, wondering what was happening to Sean.

"Okay," she said shakily, and lifted her gun again. But before she could shoot, a bullet skimmed the side of Bernard's knee and landed hard into Charlie's calf.

Ellie shrieked as she grabbed him, not letting him fall. _We can both do it, _she told herself over and over, but the blood rushing out of his calf said otherwise.

**Search for the Psychics**

"Go," Jack ordered them desperately, hoping… _praying… _that they were still hidden. "Go first. I'll follow you and wait outside the door. If anyone comes, I'll shoot. Just run as fast as you can."

Kate's faded green eyes bored into his for what felt like the first time in ages. Despite their problems and differences, and despite her choosing Sawyer, Kate would never forget the courage and bravery stored in the single man standing in front of her. She sincerely hoped that he'd keep in touch after all this was over, and she knew that he'd be a friend that stuck.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as Sawyer gently took her arm.

"Don't be," Jack said softly, with a small smile. It was a smile that honestly told her everything was all right. He felt feelings for her, but he knew Sawyer did, too. And it wasn't her fault that she didn't have feelings for him. Jack would move on, and he knew that as soon as he got off the island, he would live a happy life. His father wasn't there, but his job was, and whatever was left of his life could be remolded into something amazing.

_It'll be fine, _he told himself over and over again. _You want to get off the island._

But as much as he wanted their safety, the thought of going back to the real world wasn't as tempting as he hoped.

He watched Kate and Sawyer plunge into the open, ducking and trying not to be seen, and he saw them reach the door. He followed after them, gun at the ready, his heart completely in it. But even though it was in it, his heart felt empty, like there was no life to go back to.

**Sayid's Group**

Sayid was leading a group of annoyingly fearful and jumpy fighters—two teenage girls who looked smart but girly and flighty, a rich-looking ex-businessman from flight 815 who looked like he didn't want to be there, and an early-twenties boy who looked bored.

They were all shooting, but no one was hitting anything. Sayid took a deep breath and turned to them, looking more than exasperated.

"Aim," he said carefully. "Use your left hand to position the gun and your right hand to pull the trigger. Fix it on anyone."

"I thought we weren't supposed to kill them," said one of the girls snottily.

"If you're lucky, you'll hit them somewhere besides the heart or the head," Sayid said desperately, "but at this point it doesn't matter." Several others got near them, and he expertly shot them off.

"I think my gun's out," said the early-twenties boy, Zach, to Sayid. "What do I do?"

Sayid sighed, gave the crowd a quick once-over that determined no one was too close, and turned back to his group. "You three, keep cover," he ordered the two girls and the businessman. He pulled some shells from his cargo pockets and started to load Zach's gun. He felt certain that the girls and the businessman knew what they were doing, because Sayid was a man who had faith. But his faith obviously wasn't enough, because a bullet plummeted into his chest, and he fell to the ground.

**Charlie's Group**

Ellie's head shot up when she saw Sayid fall to the ground, but she shook it off, hoped for the best for him, and turned back to Charlie, whose leg was shuddering in pain. She was still holding him upright, but she knew from her college courses that it wasn't good. She slowly lowered him to the ground, her arms shaking as much as his leg, and let his head rest against a conveniently placed moldy rock.

_Thanks, island, _she thought, remembering Jenny's announcement about the island helping them, _but don't you think you could've just stopped him from getting shot?_

Bernard frantically shot everywhere, shouting at Ellie. "Is he okay? Will he survive? How is he?"

"Go back to shooting," Ellie said frantically as she examined Charlie's wound. Then she remembered that those could be her last words to Bernard, so she carefully added, "Please."

She took out her backpack and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and a pair of tweezers. She dug into her bag and pulled out a needle and thread, too, just in case. "Cover for me, you guys," she said desperately to Bernard and the mid-thirties males. They circled around her and Charlie, guns poised.

"Charlie," she whispered desperately, "talk to me." She scanned her backpack for something to use to dab with alcohol, and she couldn't find anything. She tried ripping a piece of her shirt off, but it didn't work.

"That always works in the movies," Charlie joked with a hardly visible smile. His breathing was uneven but safe, and she instantly relaxed.

"Ha!" she declared, despite the frantic moment, and pulled out her Driveshaft shirt from her backpack. "I hate to waste it, but it's the best I've got," she told him as she poured the alcohol onto the shirt. She wiped away the blood stains and purified the blood. He winced, but let her continue.

"That bloody hurts," he muttered, but he sounded grateful."

"That better mean it's bloody working," she said in a rushed voice as she took out the tweezers. Just as Paige had done with Sean, she pulled out the bullet. Charlie let out a few uncomfortable noises, but he bared it. She instantly covered the wound with his shirt, exerting pressure, but she knew it wouldn't work perfectly.

"I have to stitch it," she said, "but I don't want you to bleed to much first… God, Charlie help me…" She was freaking out, she knew, and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks again, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't lose Charlie, too.

He swallowed carefully, his mind reeling. "Sayid said… once, when we were together…" He took a deep breath. "Gun powder."

She nodded, keeping pressure on his wound, and took apart her gun.

"Ellie," Charlie whispered. She glanced at him. "I don't want to freak you out with the I-love-you stuff again, but this is a slightly frantic situation…" Ellie laughed slightly, her emerald eyes glistening with tears, as he continued. "I love the thought of loving you," he decided, relying on a variation of his earlier words. "That doesn't scare you, does it?"

Ellie laughed beneath her tears. "Shut up," she said almost playfully. "I love you."

**Search for the Psychics**

They were spotted.

Kate and Sawyer made it into the first hut, leaving the door cracked for Jack, but a few Others saw them. They were safe, but Jack had to lift his gun. Despite his new state of depression, he was still willing to fight. If he wasn't fighting to get back home, he was still fighting to get revenge, and that was good enough for him.

"Jack!" Kate shouted, her head peeking out of the doorway. "This might be it! C'mon, get in!"

Jack shook his head. "No, get in there without me," he said, shooting another bullet.

Kate shook her head, too, Sawyer just behind her. "Don't do this, Jack. You can make it."

"Not all of us can," Jack said. Kate wanted to say more, but she knew that Jack's mind was made up. "Just close the door," Jack hissed while firing another bullet, "and don't come out until they're gone." He shot again, running closer to the Others who were coming toward them.

"I don't want Doc to die, Freckles, but he might be able to handle it," Sawyer said softly to Kate. "And I sure as hell don't want _you_ to die."

Kate blinked away her tears and nodded. "Be careful," she shouted at Jack. He nodded, his eyes staying fixed on the band of Others coming toward him.

"Jack," Sawyer shouted. Jack didn't turn, but Sawyer knew he was listening. "All the best cowboys have daddy issues. Don't let it get to you." He knew Jack was thinking about his father.

Jack smiled slightly and fired another bullet.

"Remember," Sawyer shouted, his face looking pained, "you're the closest thing I've got to the friend on this island, and that ain't gonna change. You'll be the closest thing I got to a friend in the real world, too."

Kate smiled proudly at Sawyer's kindness, and Jack looked touched, too. Kate and Sawyer gently closed the door as Jack approached the Others. They all shot, and almost all of them missed, thanks to the winds of the island. But the winds had moved a bullet aimed for Kate and Sawyer, and now the bullet was headed for Jack.

**END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN**

I know, a lot of people are getting shot, but it _is _a war. Give me a break. So I'll give you one heads-up about the next chapter (not including the fact that, yes, Sean is really dead): either Charlie, Sayid, or Jack are going to die.

I'm very sorry, and I know they're all very beloved characters. Despite his being a slight fop, even Jack is loved by me, and you know I wouldn't kill him without a heavy heart. I love Charlie to death, so don't be mad if he dies, and Sayid has always been a goodhearted, great character that I also love, so again, please don't be mad if he dies. The fact is, I don't write sins—I write tragedies. Heh, sorry, Panic! At the Disco song. I don't really write tragedies, but in a story with a realistic war, I think it's also realistic to say that one of the main characters is going to die. I'm very sorry, but life is life.

Eh. Now I'm depressed. Let's just get to it—thanks a ton for the reviews, and as the story draws to an end (well, the war draws to an end—there _are _still five or six chapters left, but still), I'd like to say, nice knowing everyone. It's been great. ;)

Here are my loverly reviewers' responses.

**Charlotte Temples: **Yesh, Led Zeppelin is awesome. I'm thinking the same thing: YAY, a person with good taste in music. Anyway, I'm glad the unhappy-anticipation thing worked well. And as for Ellie, I agree---I wouldn't be able to wait six days. Hello, CHARLIE. But you know, she has some slight boy issues. Anyway, I'm glad you're back, and thanks for the motivating review!

**CharliesHoodie: **Your (many) reviews were so nice! Sorry about the misspellings. I started spelling Jin and Eko right in the later chapters, and (sniff) I didn't mention Boone again. Anyway, thanks, your reviews were SO positive and supportive. You're so sweet! (I would LOVE to write for _Lost_, but unfortunately I'm a little too young…13) (And yeah, the Chellie thing is a cool word.) Thanks! I'm so happy you reviewed every single chapter (yes, I admit I am obsessed with reviews at this point, but they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside). Go review addicts!

**meangenius: **Well, here's the warwise part, and there was some romancewise stuff, too. Hope you liked the Alex/Rousseau thing. I kinda temporarily forgot about them after that one part, but we'll go back to them after the war. Thanks!

Ich liebe dich! (I love you in German.)

--KissBangX3

Reviews make the war better! (Ooh, I bet that's motivating.)


	12. War, Part II

Sorry to leave you on the cliffhanger last chapter, but here's the update… and I'm sorry that someone dies… but (sigh) it had to be done.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost.

Chapter Twelve: War, Part II

**Search for the Psychics**

"JACK!" Kate screamed when the bullet pierced him. She couldn't tell where from the window, but she could see him fall to the ground.

Sawyer's eyes looked pained, but he pulled her away from the window. "He did it for a reason," Sawyer said in an urgent voice. He'd had a feeling Jack would get shot protecting them. "Do you want it to be for nothing?"

Kate shook her head, tears streaming, as she stared out the window. No one was in the building they were in, so they were safe from anyone there. "No… we can save him…"

Sawyer shook his head, keeping his hand in hers, as he scanned the room. His eyes flickered back to the window every so often, but he knew going out there now would be suicide.

"Look," Sawyer said, seeing a rug that was slightly overturned. "Trapdoor." He knelt down and opened it, revealing a narrow tunnel. "We have to go."

Kate's eyes were fixed on Jack's body, abandoned and alone. She knew Sawyer was right, but she couldn't leave yet. She opened the door, but the Others weren't nearby. "SOMEBODY COME HERE!" she screamed. Ellie and Charlie, who were the closest, glanced at her. Ellie couldn't get up (she was taking care of Charlie, who Kate realized with a sinking heart had also been shot), but one of the people from her group left to get Jack. Kate sighed in relief and entered the hut again. She didn't want to leave Jack's body there, but at least someone else was there now.

"Okay," she said with a sigh to Sawyer.

He smiled supportively, but it was a grim, fake smile that covered up doubt and fear. They took each other's hands again, but Kate's grip on his hand was faint and distant as they entered the tunnel.

**Charlie's Group**

One of the two mid-thirties guys in their group, Albert, had left to help Jack. Ellie had felt even worse when she saw their doctor and basic leader sinking to the ground, but her main focus was on Charlie, who looked like he was going into shock. She frantically took apart her bullet and spread the powder over his gunshot wound. He winced in pain, but he didn't object.

"It's just your ankle," she said desperately, more to reassure herself than him. _He can't die because of his ankle being shot, _she told herself over and over again. Finally the gunpowder settled, and the bleeding slowly stopped.

A smile spread across her face, but she wasn't sure about anything. She just hoped for the best and wrapped her Driveshaft shirt around the wound. She took some hair ties and wrapped them around the shirt to keep the bandage on him.

"How do you feel?" she asked him, her eyes boring into his, begging him for hope.

He still seemed knocked out, but she had a feeling he'd be okay.

"Brilliant," he joked.

She wondered how he could possibly joke when he was in such pain and desperation, but he made her smile, and it was a trait that she admired.

"I'll be fine," he said, touching her hand gratefully. "Thanks to you."

Ellie's smile made her tears stop running, and despite his position and pain, she gave him a huge hug. For a moment, she'd thought she'd lose him, just like her parents, and that would've been too much. But Charlie was different from everyone else, and as such, he pulled through. He wasn't leaving.

**Sayid's Group**

Everyone in Sayid's group panicked, but they managed to keep level hands, keeping their guns raised and circling around him, just as everyone else in danger had. Zach, the one who Sayid had been helping, dropped to the ground in desperation. "What do I do?" he asked frantically. Sayid's eyes were shut, but his head was quivering, and he was still conscious.

"What do I do?" Zach repeated, looking desperate. He was blaming himself, and Sayid wasn't saying anything.

"It's too late," Sayid choked. "Just… fight."

Zach shook his head. "No. I've got to get you to the beach. There are vaccines there." The briefcase had been too big to take with them to the camp, but Zach was beating himself up about not having suggested that they bring it despite its size.

"Just fight," Sayid repeated. His consciousness was drifting, and his blood was streaming.

Zach looked far off to see if Albert was taking Jack to the beach for a vaccine. But he wasn't. Apparently he had some medical experience, because he was removing the bullet and applying alcohol, just as Ellie had. But Zach didn't know how to do that, and he feared that his only hope was to take Sayid to the beach.

"C'mon," Zach begged. But he knew Sayid couldn't stand. Zach glanced around frantically and finally decided that no one could help him. He knelt down and hoisted Sayid onto his back. He knew it wasn't a good position for someone dying to be in, but it was his only hope.

"Stop…" Sayid moaned, but Zach didn't. He had to save him, or he'd never forgive himself.

**Outside the Hut**

Jack was gasping for air as Albert carefully removed the bullet. He was a real estate agent back in the real world, but he'd taken several medical classes on surgery and biology, as well as plenty of health classes, and he was pretty sure that he knew what he was doing.

He _wasn't _sure, however, that Jack would make it. He'd been shot almost directly in the heart, and even with the best medical care, people usually didn't survive that.

Albert wasn't sure about the vaccine. He'd seen it work on Jenny, but he didn't think Jack would survive if he was moved and then had a needle put into him. He decided to let it run through here and hope for the best. After all, the island was on their side, right?

"Kate," Jack said, his voice cracking. "Sawyer."

"They left," Albert said, surprised that Jack could say anything. "Should I get them?"

Jack's head moved the smallest measurement from side to side. "No," he managed. "Tell them… tell them they saved everyone they could." Albert nodded, paying rapt attention, as Jack continued. "Don't let them blame themselves for my death."

Albert shook his head. "Don't think like that!" he objected. If Jack gave in to death, there wouldn't be a chance. And whether or not the war worked, he doubted they'd survive without him.

"And don't let this break them apart," Jack added, his voice soft. Albert had to work to make out his words. "They belong together… tell them I give them my best."

Albert shook his head again, faster. "I would, but I won't have to. You'll pull through!" he said in a set, certain voice, even though his tone wavered. He put pressure to the open wound, praying to the island to help them. If it was really on their side, couldn't it help Jack?

But the island had done a lot already, and Albert wasn't sure that it could do anything now.

**Charlie's Group**

"Who else?" Charlie asked after Ellie gently spilled a bit of water into his mouth.

Ellie bit her lip. She knew what he meant: who else was shot? She decided that shielding him wasn't going to help. Charlie was going to be all right, and that was enough for her. "Sayid was," she said, "and someone took him to the beach for the vaccine."

Charlie's eyes flickered. He'd been friends with Sayid for a long time, and his memory flashed back to the time he, Sayid, and Ana Lucia had followed Henry's map to the parachute. He and Sayid had been close for a long time, and like him and Hurley and him and Eko, they had drifted. Now he instantly felt guilty for letting their friendship go.

"And Jack," Ellie added in a shaky voice, her eyes staying locked on his. She wanted him to know she was there for him, and even if they wouldn't be all right, he would.

"Jack?" Charlie repeated. He started to sit up, but he quickly laid back down in pain. Still, Jack? He wasn't any more frustrated by the fact that Jack was shot than the fact that Sayid was, because he couldn't pick favorites with them, but Jack had been their _leader. _He found it impossible to believe that Jack could die. "Is he okay?"

Ellie shrugged, glancing past him. There was a far-off view of the doctor with Albert leaning over him, but she couldn't tell. "I hope so," she said.

"At least you are," Charlie said with a sigh, thanking the island as much as possible for keeping Ellie safe.

"I wish I could say the same for you," she said, glancing down at his calf. "Do you think you can get up?"

He frowned and tried. He grimaced in pain and sat back down. Ellie blushed, mad at herself that she would try to make him. "Sorry," she mumbled. She glanced around, and conveniently there was a thick, tall walking stick. She handed it to him and hugged him, pulling him up. He splayed his weight against the stick and lifted his right leg, the one that was shot, off the ground.

"You're standing!" Ellie squealed, letting go of him. Charlie wobbled, but steadied himself.

"Now can you walk?" Ellie asked hopefully.

Charlie started, but he had to jump to move. Instead he smiled at her and put his arm around her. He was putting a lot of his weight on her, but she didn't mind, and she enjoyed the situation. They walked back toward their group together. Everyone in their group was thrilled to see that Charlie was saved.

**The Tunnel**

"Is he going to be okay?" Kate asked as Sawyer helped her down. Once they dropped down, the opening was tall enough for both of them to crouch but not have to crawl.

Sawyer didn't say anything. Kate had been acting weird to him ever since they left Jack, and he knew that if anything happened to the doctor, it would change everything with him and Kate.

"I don't know," Sawyer finally said with a heavy sigh. "I hope so."

She knew he was honest, but she kept her eyes focused on the clouded, dirty dark ahead of her. If Jack died, she didn't know what she would do. Staying with Sawyer would be like being disrespectful to the dead. No matter how much she wanted to be with Sawyer, she couldn't ever live guilt-free with him if Jack were dead.

"Freckles?" Sawyer asked after a moment of silence except the sounds of their shoes clanking against the dirt on the ground.

Kate kept a hand above her eyes, as there were still clods of dirt falling from the ceiling. Whatever the tunnel was, they didn't use it much. "Yeah?" she asked, trying to ignore his nickname for her. It made her feel proud whenever he said it, but now it brought more guilt to her already guilty conscience. How could she reject Jack without a second regard for his feelings? How could she be doing this to him?

"What're you thinking about?" He was pretty sure he knew the answer: Jack. He wasn't jealous; he knew she had every right to think about him. But he also didn't want her to, because he knew that her thinking about Jack would be her doubting her relationship with Sawyer. And after all that had happened, he didn't think he could deal with losing her.

Kate crossed her arms, trying to come up with something and not thinking of anything. "The Others," she finally said. They were the ones who did this to Jack—to all of them.

"Right," Sawyer said, nodding. That was better than saying "Jack."

Kate couldn't help it. She turned back around, her eyes wide and sad, and said, "We have to go back. Jack… he might be…"

But before she finished, her walking was cut off. Her back rammed into a stone wall and metal ladder rungs, and she jumped and turned around. Sawyer ran up to her and looked up the ladder rungs. At least sixteen feet up was a room, dark and sinister, yet alluring and almost peaceful-looking.

"Damn," Sawyer said in awe, glancing up.

"The psychics," Kate said, her jaw set. She put her hands and feet on the ladder and began the climb.

**The Beach**

Claire was the first to see Zach and Sayid. She was taking Aaron for a stroll on the beach, talking with Rose, when Zach came barreling out of the jungle. He almost collapsed at Claire's feet, but he managed to stay upright, Sayid's weak body still on his back.

"Oh, my God," Claire said. "So the war… it's really happening?"

Zach nodded, out of breath, and said, "I need the vaccine!"

Claire didn't need to be asked twice. She gently but swiftly handed Aaron over to Rose and ran back to her tent to get the briefcase with the vaccine in it. When she got back, Rose had spread out a blanket, and Sayid's nearly dead body was lying on it.

"Does he have any phobia of needles or any medical conditions?" Claire asked before she gave the shots to Zach.

Zach glanced down at Sayid to answer, but he was far too knocked out to respond. Zach turned back to Claire and said, "I'd say it's worth the risk."

Claire gulped and glanced one last time at Sayid. Hoping she wasn't making a huge mistake, she handed the briefcase over to Zach. He undid the latches and loaded the needles. He took a sheet of tissue and wiped off a place near the vein he was going to insert it. Once it was clear, he inserted the needle and pushed the liquid into Sayid's bloodstream.

"Cross your fingers," he suggested to Claire.

**Outside the Hut**

"You're done."

Albert didn't mean Jack was going to die, and he didn't mean he was cured. He simply meant he had done all he could possibly do, and now he was exhausted. Sweat was pouring off Albert's face, his chest was heaving, and his brain was swimming with questions. Had he done everything right? Was Jack okay? Would he survive? Would Albert have to deliver Jack's message?

"Thanks," Jack managed, his dark eyes fluttering, not deciding whether to stay open or to close. "Just remember… to tell Kate."

Albert nodded. "I will," he said, "but should I go get them? Is there _anyone _I can get? Jack, you can't just leave us. We need you. I don't care about Sawyer's stupid jokes, but you _are _the hero. Without you, we'll just fight with each other and die and not even care."

"Lucky that rescue's coming," Jack breathed.

"_How do you know_?" Albert demanded desperately. The thought of Jack dying was much too great.

Jack looked up at him, his eyes managing to stay open. "Kate and Sawyer will find the psychics," he said, his voice almost clear. "And you will get off this island."

**The Ladder**

"Freckles, much as I enjoy the view, shouldn't we make a plan first?"

Kate ignored his joke, definitely not in the mood for it, and thought about the latter suggestion. But the plans they'd made so far had ended up getting Charlie, Sayid, and Jack shot, and Jack and Sayid were both in critical condition—for all she knew, maybe even dead. She was sick of plans. She had a gun in one hand, and at this point, that was good enough for her. She finally reached the top of the ladder and jumped up, landing in a small rectangular room. Three older people, two females and one male, were sitting in various sections of the room, eyes closed and mouths mouthing words.

"Look at me!" Kate ordered sharply, her gun pointing at one of them. "If you don't, your friend dies." She was past politeness, past decency, and past civility. She would do whatever it took to find the psychics, order them to get them off the island, and find Jack again.

Sawyer clambered up and rose, gun poised, and aimed at another of them. "You heard her," he said. Despite their issues, he wasn't about to leave her hanging.

They slowly opened their eyes and stood, hands up. They obviously hadn't expected to be found.

"How did you know about that entrance?" asked the male slowly.

"By looking," Kate snarled. "Are you the psychics?"

"No," the two females said at once.

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Kate shouted. But as she said it, thoughts began swarming in her head. _Just because of your past, just because you killed you dad… does that really give you a right to kill us? And we didn't shoot Jack. You might want to go to the source if you want revenge._

"It's them!" Kate spat to Sawyer. "Get the hell out of my head," she commanded to the psychics, but thoughts were still swarming in her mind. Sawyer noticed the same thing.

_You don't have to follow her. Things are over now. The doctor will die, and she'll never forgive herself or you. You might as well go back to being the heartless con-man—but don't take it out on us._

"Stop!" he shouted. No one was convincing him to turn on Kate.

"You're the psychics," Kate said. "Well, you know what? We only need one of you. So if any of you do anything else to our heads, we'll both shoot."

"And the third?" asked one of the girls.

"We'll toss a coin," Kate hissed seethingly.

The three psychics glanced at each other and nodded. Finally the man spoke. "What is it," he asked, "that you want us to do?"

"I want you to contact the psychic that Claire and Eko talked to," Kate ordered. "Malkin. And I want you to tell him that if he doesn't tell the police our exact coordinates, I'm going to find a damn way off this island myself and kill him."

"We would die," the man said, "before giving away the island's whereabouts. It is our peoples' legacy to live here."

"In case you haven't noticed, Buddha, your people are out there, dying. We're winning the war. So if you don't tell him, you'll die. But it won't be for a good cause, 'cause there isn't gonna be anyone else left to protect."

Again, the three psychics glanced at each other, probably telepathically debating what to do.

"Tick-tock," Sawyer said, gun at the ready. Kate couldn't bring herself to look at him, but she was thankful for the help.

"Fine," one of them said. "Will we do it here?"

Sawyer glanced at Kate for what to do next. She shook her head and said to them, "We'll bring you back to our hatch, tie you up, and then deal with you. Having you is the important part." She took a deep breath. "Do you have handcuffs here?"

They shook their heads, but Kate shook her gun, and the younger girl retrieved three pairs. The older girl and the man looked at her disappointedly but said nothing. Kate and Sawyer strapped the handcuffs around their wrists.

"Is there another way out of here?" Kate demanded.

One of them motioned to the stone wall to their right. "You can kick it down."

Kate glanced at Sawyer, who nodded. She aimed a kick at the middle of the wall, and sure enough, the fake stone came crumbling. There were doors behind them, and Kate wondered what purpose doors served when there was a stone wall behind them, but she said nothing. After all, they were probably just to keep the psychics safe.

She kicked down the doors, taking the younger girl's handcuffs, and walked back to the outside. Several guards had their guns on her, but they lowered them when they saw the psychics.

"We're done," a few of them mumbled. Kate felt a proud smile amidst all the pain.

**The Beach**

"Is it working?" Rose asked.

Zach frowned, scanning Sayid for changes.

"Well?" Claire asked, frantically pacing.

Finally Sayid's head turned and he let out a moan.

"I think it cured him!" Zach said happily, a smile breaking onto his formerly stressed face. "We're okay!" He looked down at Sayid. "You're okay!"

Sayid smiled. "You didn't listen to me. Thank you."

Zach beamed, but the pleasure was cut short when Kate and Sawyer emerged from the jungle with three more captives.

"These," Kate sighed tiredly, "are the psychics and our only way off the island. Use your knives and guns and get them to the hatch. Keep them in the food storage room and keep a guard there at all times."

"Freckles," Sawyer said, "don't you think we should do all this, just to be sure?"

But Kate had already left, and Sawyer knew where she was going.

* * *

The second Kate reached the Others' camp again, all the survivors seemed to look at her with respect and obedience. Kate glanced at them in confusion, unsure of what it meant. 

"Congratulations, Freckles," Sawyer said. "You're their new leader."

But this wasn't comforting to Kate. It meant that they had given up on Jack. She stopped moving and decided to do something useful with her unwanted power. Now that she had everyone's attention, she could make an announcement.

There were a lot of dead and/or disabled bodies on the ground, but every single one belonged to the Others. There were still at least ten aiming and trying to shoot, but they stopped to listen.

"We have your psychics," Kate shouted. "We have one of your young girls, and we have your leader. We also have hostages. If you keep fighting us, we'll kill you. But we don't want to. Drop your guns and stop, and we'll take you to the hatch."

The fact that they had the psychics hit all the Others hard, and one by one, the clashing of guns hitting the ground was heard. The Others came forward in defeat, and Kate could hardly believe it as they did. But this wasn't what she had come for.

"Take care of this," Kate shouted to Ellie and Charlie, and they nodded in response. Then Kate ran as hard as she could.

* * *

"Oh, my God," Kate gasped when she reached him. Albert was still there, looking grave but desperate, trying to heal the doctor. "What did you do? How is he? Has he said anything?" 

Sawyer was running to catch up, but he stayed behind at a distance. This was what she had come here for, and no matter how much it broke his heart to do it, he would let her be. He knew she had chosen him, and that her heartbreak was only because Jack was gone, dying with that choice on the weight of Kate's shoulders.

"Yeah," Albert said, "he wanted to tell you something." He glanced down at Jack, whose eyes were still fluttering, fighting to stay awake and alive. "Can you talk to her?" he asked Jack.

Jack slowly nodded, and when he did, Albert knew he should leave. He walked back beside Sawyer, whose electric gaze was locked on the sad sight of Kate kneeling in front of Kate. As much as Sawyer loved her, he wondered if she had made the right decision.

"Kate," Jack breathed, "you can't blame yourself for this."

Kate shook her head, her face tight and her eyes fogged up with tears. "But we left," she said, tears tugging at her eyes, making them feel heavy. "You didn't have to do that… why did you do that…?"

"Because you deserved it," Jack said softly.

Kate shook his head. How could such a good person have this happen? "Jack…" She looked more than hurt or sad. She looked miserable, and she looked confused. "Don't leave. Don't do this to me."

"Kate," Jack said in a strained voice, "don't do this to yourself. Don't regret any decisions you made, and don't pull away from Sawyer."

He knew her too well.

"But you're not going to die," Kate said desperately, "right?"

Sawyer looked sadly at the two of them, knowing the answer.

"I am," Jack managed. "Kate, don't regret your decision. When I die, my only wishes are for you to be rescued and for you to be happy."

Kate considered this beneath the cries. She knew she'd eventually be happy with Sawyer, and if that was what he really wanted…

"We were meant to be friends," Jack said in a scratchy voice, "and we'll always be friends. I don't regret your decision, Kate, and I don't want you to."

"Jack…" Kate whispered.

"Promise me," Jack said, "that your feelings won't change for Sawyer when I die."

Sawyer stared at him in surprise. After all their fights, was it really possible that Jack would do this? He was glad for the reassurance, but he felt almost as guilty as Kate, and he hated that the doctor's last words were about the couple he probably despised.

Kate wanted to say something else, but she nodded, turning her head for a millisecond to send a small smile at Sawyer. "I promise," she sniffed back to Jack.

"Be happy," Jack said, and his eyes finally closed. "Be free."

And he died.

**The Hatch**

The psychics were tossed into the gun room, thanks to Claire and Zach. Aaron was still with Rose back at the beach.

"You've lost the war," Zach said proudly. "And you're going to lose your lives if you don't contact Malkin and get us off this island."

They all shook their heads. "I'm not exposing this island," the older girl said, "ever."

"Stay with them," Zach said to Claire. She nodded, knife poised, as Zach left. When he came back, Henry was next to him. Zach had a gun at the leader's head.

"I repeat," Zach said, "contact Malkin and get us off this island."

Henry said nothing, obviously wondering which he valued more—his life or the island's secrecy.

The man and the older girl eyed each other skeptically, but the younger girl's eyes were already closing, and she starting mouthing words a mile a minute, whispering under her breath.

"Stop!" the older girl hissed, but the younger one didn't move.

Claire shot a hopeful look to Zach. "Is that it?" she asked. "Once she tells Malkin, will we be free?"

Zach smiled. "I think so," he said with a sigh.

"Okay," the younger girl said, her eyes opening. "I told Malkin our situation. He doesn't want to get into any more trouble. He left to tell the police where you are. You'll be free soon."

"We'll keep them here overnight, just in case," Zach told Claire.

Claire nodded speechlessly, her mind reeling. They were getting off the island.

**Outside the Hut**

Kate broke into sobs again, pounding the ground with a fist. "Jack!" she shouted, pleading for him to wake up, but his eyes stayed closed.

Sawyer slowly rose and walked over to her.

"He left," Kate gasped, hardly seeing Sawyer with all her tears. "He's gone."

"He died in the most honorable way possible," Sawyer assured her, trying not to cry himself. But his face had shadowed back to the sad face Kate had seen before, and she knew that he was hurting, too. "He led us to victory with the war… and he saved us so that we could find the psychics. Kate, we're getting off this island."

"But the island… it was the last place he saw," Kate objected, her fingers tugging at the patches of grass amidst the dirt. "A man as good as him should be able to face the world again before he died," she said. She wanted him to see the world. It was what he fought for.

"I know," Sawyer said, and he gently brought her into a hug. He knew she felt guilty about being with him, but he had to do everything he could to make her feel better. As guilty as she felt, Kate loved having him there to be with her, and she gave into his warm embrace, her head resting on his chest as she tried to stop herself from shaking with sobs. "But there was nothing you could do."

Kate calmed slightly, knowing he was probably right. "We should bury him here," she said. "We should get a real gravestone from the real world and… and build a memorial."

"But you'd come back here," Sawyer reminded her.

"I know," Kate said, sniffling quietly. "This island has treated me better than the real world ever did."

Sawyer knew she was right. "Okay," he said, "then I'm coming with you."

Kate smiled up at him, and finally her tears stopped running. "I'm sorry," she managed to say. "I didn't mean to take it out on you. I just… I chose you, and I didn't want Jack to die with that…"

Sawyer nodded. "I know," he said softly, looking back at the doctor's body. "But he said it was okay, and Freckles, I think he meant it."

**END OF CHAPTER TWELVE**

(shields myself from Jack fans) I tried to make him die as respectably as possible, and the respect for Jack isn't over yet. And I know it was a HUGE death, and I'm sorry, but I think, for my story, it had to be done.

On a more positive note (even though it's very hard to be positive after writing that), here are my review responses. And be sure to come back to read THEIR RESCUE next chapter! And then there'll be Homecoming, Pt. I and II, followed by Return and Epilogue. I know it's a lot after the main points, but I have a good plan, and I hope everyone likes it. Anyway, here are your responses...

**astronomylover: **Yeah, Jack _is _too hot to die...sorry. Anyway, thanks so much for your comment, it was REALLY sweet.

**xlostangelx: **Jackit was. Anyway, I love your HurleyLibby story--it's really good. Thanks for the review!

**CharliesHoodie: **You're all caught up! Thanks SO much for all your sweet comments, they make me happy. :) Your reviews have corrupted me, too, hoodie! I think I love you too! ;)

Thanks everyone. Review please!

Love, KISSBANGX3


	13. Saved

Hey, sorry it took so long to get this chapter out (well, compared to the rest), but my computer was screwing up and I couldn't get it to work right. Anyway, I know you're all very choked up about the past events (I am, too), but try to enjoy this chapter, since they are FINALLY SAVED! (Hey, I didn't spoil anything. It was in the chapter title.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost, the show Saved, or the movie Saved. Not that I used the Saved's in my story, but… eh. It was supposed to be funny. And no, it's not in a religious way.

Chapter Thirteen: Saved

**Outside the Hut**

"Okay," Kate said, taking deep breaths to refrain her tears from coming back. "Uh, Sawyer, can you take him with us to the beach?"

Sawyer glanced uncomfortably down at Jack. His eyes looked sore at the sight, and Kate knew that he felt terrible about what had happened. He glanced back at her and nodded gravely. Then he knelt down and picked Jack's limp body up bridal-style, very respectively, and turned back to her.

"Thanks," Kate said, so softly that it was hardly a whisper.

Sawyer gave her a small smile, and she thankfully returned it. They walked silently back to the beach together, tailed by a quiet Albert.

When they reached the beach, everyone crowded around them, looking scared but hopeful. Like Albert, they refused to believe that he could die. He was their leader, and it seemed impossible.

"How is he?" Claire asked, obviously not expecting the answer she was about to receive.

Ellie, Charlie, Bernard, and many others who had been fighting came up to them with many people captured. They were the Others who had surrendered when learning that their psychics were captured.

"He's…" Sawyer started, but he wasn't about to crack a joke at a time like this. Instead he glanced at Kate. Now that Jack was gone, he assumed people would take commands from Kate.

Kate looked distressed beyond her capability. The pressure coming from the people surrounding her was overwhelming, and she'd gone through enough with Jack's death already.

"Jack," she said in a determined but strangled voice, "is dead."

The talking ceased completely, and everyone seemed to take a few steps back to interpret what they had just heard. Jack? Their leader? _Dead_?

"How?" Charlie managed to ask.

"A stray bullet," Kate said, her throat feeling heavy. "Look, everyone is feeling hurt and loss right now. But we've gotten through deaths in the past, and we'll have to get through this one."

"But he led us," Ellie said. She hadn't known Jack ask long as the original flight 815 survivors had, but she knew that he was important, and that without him, things would've been a lot worse. Charlie glanced at her, knowing how she felt, and took her hand. "He's the reason so many of us are still alive."

"I know," Kate said, "but we have the psychics now. As hard as it is for you to believe, we just fought a war—and we won. Our prize is getting off this island."

"Yeah, see, that's you guys keep thinking," said a particularly grouchy middle-aged man. "You keep saying we're going to get off. First it's the cock pit, then it's the transceiver, then the raft, and of course the tailees, and did I mention the college students? Each time, you said there was a hope to get off. How are the war and the psychics any different?"

Kate shrugged. "You don't have to believe me. A little hope would be good for you, but you don't have to, because I know someone's coming. They'll be here by tomorrow night, definitely."

Her voice was so certain that, despite everyone's depression at the loss of Jack, they were all convinced, and most of their doubt was flushed away.

* * *

Everyone had split up again to exchange phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and Kate and Sawyer were left alone toward the back of the beach, digging up a future grave for Jack.

"So what kinda memorial are you gonna buy for him?" Sawyer asked. There was a hint of jealousy in his voice, but he knew Kate had made her decision, and that after experiencing a death, she was bound to show affection for Jack.

"It's not just for him," Kate said, "it's for everyone. Boone, Shannon, Scott, Dr. Arzt, and Joanne. They deserve something big and nice, so that they can be remembered. The island isn't a bad place any more."

"Okay," Sawyer said with an understanding nod. Then he added slowly, "But, I mean, are we talking statues of gold here, Freckles? 'Cause last I checked, you were a convict, and I doubt you had a ton of money."

Kate bit her lip. "I know. But we could figure something out. I'm sure Sun would be willing to donate, and a lot of the Emory students would…"

"We could always, you know, con someone," Sawyer suggested hopefully.

Kate glared at him, but it was mostly playful. "No," she said quickly. "No conning, especially not with me."

Sawyer's eyes flickered. "Are they gonna let you go?" he asked.

She frowned, considering this. "Almost three months of being stranded on an island is probably considered a good thing to the judges," she said. "It's definitely a way to build good character."

Sawyer chuckled as she continued.

"But probably not. I just…" She bit her lip. "I did a lot of bad things."

Sawyer stopped shoveling and cocked his head slightly. He knew this was probably as good a time as any to find out about her old life. "Freckles, I know you don't like talking about this stuff, but if I'm going to be a part of your old life, I think I should know about it."

It was a well-said speech, and Kate knew he was right. "I'll tell you tonight," she finally decided. "Really. We'll talk about everything."

He nodded, knowing that she was being honest. "But what if a plane comes?"

She shook her head. It was sunset already, and she knew they'd wait until morning at least. "They won't until tomorrow," she said. "I really doubt it."

He grinned slightly. "There's a switch. Here I am, hoping the rescue planes _don't _come."

**The _Expedition _Survivors' Shelter**

All the college students were out walking and saying good-bye a second time, so Ellie and Charlie had decided to come into the tent to talk—among other things.

Despite his wounded leg, they'd found ways to make out, but they weren't kisses like Ellie had shared with Jake. All she could think about was how glad he was still there, in front of her, and not dead, and all he could think about was how great she had been in such a desperate situation. That and their huge attractions for each other brought romance to each kiss they took.

Finally Ellie pulled away and crossed her legs. "Okay, question," she said after she caught her breath.

"Yes?" Charlie asked attentatively. With any other girl he'd want to get back to the kissing, but he genuinely liked talking to Ellie, so he didn't mind.

"Kate says we're going to get off the island. For real."

Charlie grinned. "That's not a question."

She laughed lightly. "Okay, my question is, what're we going to do once we get there? I mean, I don't want to freak you out—it's up to you."

He didn't looked freaked out by commitment or any other reason. Instead he kept his eyes fixed on hers and asked easily, "What were you planning on doing? I mean, once you graduated from college?"

She considered this. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not really a live-life-on-the-edge girl, but I'm also not a strong-ambitions girl. I guess I figured I'd play it by ear."

"You know what else you can play by ear?" Charlie asked with a hopeful grin. "Guitar."

Ellie sighed. "Okay, in theory, you know that would be amazing. But I know what tours and albums and money and fame do to people, and I don't want to be a part of it. I know you miss some parts of it, but admit it. There are things you're glad you're gone from."

He nodded in defeat. "You're right," he admitted. He didn't want her to be a part of the dangerous life, anyway, but the thought of spending the rest of his youth in a band with her seemed amazing.

"I _do _want to be with you, though," she said, just in case he was thinking she was backing out. She wouldn't have ever pictured herself saying that before, but now she thought she'd never felt stronger about any decision. "Can't we be, I don't know, real estate agents?"

Charlie laughed. "I don't know about _that,_" he said, "but I know what you're saying."

Ellie thought about suggesting that they move in together, but she knew it was much too soon, and moving in did a lot of couples harm. Instead she said, "Where do you live? I mean, where _did _you live?"

"I was staying in LA," Charlie said, "but I've had enough of that life." He glanced at her hopefully. "Do you think I should move to Atlanta?"

Her heart raced, but she wasn't sure if it was what she wanted for him. Atlanta was her city, but it wasn't her favorite city, and it still had a lot of the big-city life that he was trying to avoid. "Do you _want _to move to Atlanta?" she asked instead.

He smiled. "Absolutely."

**Claire's Tent**

"Knock, knock."

Claire rolled her eyes as she put Aaron back into his cradle. "Who's there?"

"Idiot," said the entirely familiar voice of Jake as he stepped into her tent. She started to say something else, but he raised his eyebrows, telling her to continue their joke.

"Idiot who?" she sighed.

"Idiot who doesn't know how to treat a perfect girl," he finished, glancing at her hopefully, "and who knows he doesn't deserve it, but who is wondering if said perfect girl would like to go on a date with him back in the real world."

Claire sighed again. "Jake, I live in Australia."

He shrugged. "I could visit. Besides, we'll all be stuck in Australia for at least a few days once we're rescued. What's the harm in a little dinner once we get there?"

Claire didn't say anything. Just before the battle, he'd told her he wasn't going to ask for her back, and that he was just trying to make amends. She liked it that way—it was right that way. But know he was asking for her back again, and she felt like she was digging her way into trouble. Thomas-type trouble.

"Look," Jake sighed, "we both survived the war, and you were all I could think about when I was fighting. I don't want to go back to the real world alone, with you as the only thought in my head."

Claire took a deep breath. Jake wasn't the best guy she'd ever met, but she knew that anyone who could stand being blown off so many times deserved a good speech first. "Jake, you'd be a good guy on your own, but you have a problem."

Jake blinked at her.

"You _can't _be alone. It's like a need-for-a-Significant-Other complex. A lot of people have it. They feel like their meaning in life is to get married and have children and be part of a family."

He blinked at her again. What was she saying?

"But some people don't need Significant Others. I'm not saying you don't, but I am saying that if you go for a few weeks without a girlfriend, you won't die. And I feel like you want to be with me because you want to be with someone. And I'm the best you found."

He shook his head. "No, Claire, I really like you."

Claire believed him, but she also knew that she was just until something better came along. She was the best he could do on the island since he and Ellie broke up. And besides that, even if he were perfect for her, it was her and Aaron. She didn't need anyone else. "You don't need anyone except yourself, Jake. _I _don't need anyone except myself." She didn't mention the fact that she had Aaron.

"But I want you," he said desperately.

A week ago, she probably would have been charmed. But now it felt disgusting. Who was he to say that he wanted her? After everything she'd been through with him, she just didn't care. "Look, Jake, I have Aaron. I have my son. And I'm not looking for any other love. I know you don't want to be independent, but I do. It's my path. I had a special son, and I'm going to raise him my own very special, very pure, and very shocking way: without men."

Jake looked hurt, but finally, he understood. He nodded, not showing any signs of anger or danger, and left.

Claire sighed, plopping into the plane seat in her tent, and turned to look at her sleeping son. _You're all I need, _she thought peacefully. Her sleeping child.

**Sun & Jin's Tent**

**(Korean written in English)**

Jin's arm was around his wife's shoulder, and he was smiling down at her and his future child. She was resting a tired hand on her stomach when she glanced up at him.

"I don't want things to go back to the way they were," she whispered.

He knew how she felt. The thought had been biting at him ever since the raft: her father would find them, and he would want Jin to work for him again.

"Neither do I," he said, "but at least we'll be off the island."

"But the island isn't so bad," she reminded him. "The beach is beautiful, the people are nice, and I have my garden." She didn't mention the time he'd torn it all to shreds. "And there's the hatch, and food in the jungle." She sighed. "The Others are gone now, and the island doesn't seem so bad."

"It doesn't," Jin admitted, "but there's nothing we can do about it. I won't work for your father again. At least, if I do, I won't do the work I did. We'll be happy, Sun. It'll be fine."

Sun let her eyes wander out of their tent and onto the crashing waves. "I know," she said, "but I almost wish we could stay on the island. Everything would be better here."

"I know," he said softly. "Everything good happened to us on the island."

**The Beach**

Sun and Jin weren't the only ones having second thoughts about the rescue. Thoughts were spinning in everyone's minds about the lives they were returning to.

John Locke. _What if I'm paralyzed again? What will I do with my life once I go back? Face my father? Face Helen? I'll just be replaying the same life, the life where I was a nobody, fixated on the little things and not the big things. But everything's different on the island. Better._

Kate Austen. _Why was I so urgent to get off the island? They'll never let me go, not after what I did to my father and to the house… and the marshal… but I can't run. I've got Sawyer now, and I can't make him run with me. I wish I could just stay on the island with him. Everything was perfect on the island._

James Ford. _What do I have to go back to? Heh, I bet Australia's gonna be real happy to see me back so soon. But Kate doesn't want me conning people any more, and for her, I won't. So what will I do with my life? I don't have experience as anyone except Sawyer. Wait—will I kill him again? Can't I just leave it? No, if I go back, I'll kill him… why did I find the psychics? Why couldn't I just stay?_

Charlie Pace. _What will happen if I go back? Atlanta… I could stay off drugs in Atlanta, right? Of course, if Ellie's there, I can. But how will things work with her? Neither of us have stable jobs or goals. I won't be able to support her, and we'll just be normal people in the normal world. The island brought us together—what if it tears us apart? _

Ellie Sanders. _Great, the old life. Girlfriend of Jake for five years, girl with no goals, good old Sunlots Apartment Complex, and my sister to take care of me. But I need to stop with the self-pity. Charlie will be there, right? That's all that matters… but everything seemed so much better here…_

Claire Littleton. _I can't go back there! Aaron will be safer, but not if I don't have the money to feed him and clothe him. How will I get money? Fish N Fry? Mum practically disowned me. Maybe the psychic was right to put me on the island. Aaron needed to be raised here. He still does._

Sayid Jarrah. _I used to want to go back there, to find Nadia again and to be with her. But I met Shannon, and everything changed. Now I would come back to Nadia a traitor. And I will return to my life as a torturer. Life on the island fixing things and helping people has been the best few months of my life._

John, Kate, Sawyer, Charlie, Ellie, Claire, and Sayid weren't the only ones, not even including Sun and Jin. Jenny and Andrew were feeling the same way, along with Jake, Eko, Hurley, Michael, Walt, Rose, and Bernard. They were glad to be free, but it came with a price.

**Kate & Sawyer's Campfire**

"Welcome, Freckles," Sawyer greeted when Kate approached the campfire Sawyer had made for them. It was dark out, and Kate was glad to have someone to stay up with. She doubted she'd be sleeping when there were rescue planes coming in the morning.

"Hey, Sawyer," she said in response. She liked his nickname for her, but she didn't want to spoil it by giving him one. She sat next to him, heaving a relaxed sigh. Finally the stress of the war and everything else was over. "Look, I don't want to ruin everything, but before all this—" she gestured to the flames and the starlit sky "—I wanted to ask you when we're going to have the funeral and bury Jack." His body was lying carefully in a spare tent right now, but she knew it was wrong not to bury him.

"We'll bury him tomorrow morning, before we leave," Sawyer promised. "The graves are ready—we just need people to be there for the ceremony."

She smiled. "Thanks," she said gratefully.

He nodded and pulled out two small glass bottles of alcohol. He handed her one and she raised her eyebrows.

"Remember the good ol' days?" he asked her. "I Never?"

She realized what he was doing and laughed, then shook her head. "No, look, I really just want to talk. There's all that important stuff…"

He shrugged. "I know, but we had to make this fun. Just say whatever you wanna say, stick 'I Never' in front of it, and add a sip at the end."

"Then what's the point?" she asked.

He shrugged. "In case you didn't remember, I got more out of you last time we played than I did any other time."

She sighed, opened the cap, and said, "I never decided to explain my past to you." She took a swig and set it down, then she folded her arms across her chest and began. "So… Wayne."

Sawyer grinned. "The guy you thought was me."

She ignored him and continued. "He's my dad, but I didn't know that until a few weeks before…"

"You killed him," Sawyer finished, nodding understandingly. His expression didn't tell her that it was right, but unlike everyone else, it also didn't tell her that it was wrong.

"Yeah," she said softly. "But it was only because of how he treated my mom. He was so bad to her, but she wouldn't get rid of him, and it was the only way."

He nodded and came up with another question, but remembered that it had to be in I Never form. "I never wondered," he said, "how it was that you killed him." He sipped.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I never blew up the house." She sipped.

He felt like it would be appropriate to laugh, but he didn't. Even though he wanted to, he knew it wasn't something that she was proud of. Instead he said, "What about after that?"

"The marshal found me," she said with a shrug. "My mom ratted me out and he found me, but in the car, he pulled over and crashed. I got out and ran away." She didn't mention the horse. "I spent a long time running, and I came back one day to see my mom." She took a deep breath. "And an old friend."

"The man you never loved?" he asked, knowing what she meant and not really meaning "never."

She nodded. "Him. The next day, we went to the hospital to see my mom. She was sick. But she shouted, and the cops came, and…" She sighed, her eyes welling up with tears again. "I ran again. But he came with me. And he ended up getting shot."

Sawyer's breath inhaled quickly, and she knew he was surprised. He was almost glad for a second—at least there wouldn't be competition back in her old life—but he immediately regretted it when he saw the look on her face. It was tearful at the memory.

"Then I ran again. I broke into a bank at one point, but I didn't take any money. It was just something in a vault that I really needed. Then I ran again, I was hoping for good, to an old farmer's house. I spent a long time there, but _he _ratted me out, and the marshal caught me. That's how I got on the plane."

Sawyer's expression was soft as he listened. "I never thought," he finally said, "no wonder you've got trust issues." He took a sip.

Kate laughed, her tears drying, and she smiled. "I never trusted you." She took a sip without hesitating, and he felt relieved to hear it.

He knew it was out of line, and he knew Kate didn't need it right now, but it came to him, and he couldn't stop himself. She had to know. He took a deep breath, his baby blue eyes boring into her sea green ones, and said, "I never loved the person I was staring at." He sipped without taking his eyes off her and waited to see what she would do. She looked at him for a second, scanning her surroundings, and finally put her guard down. She took a sip. She loved him, too.

* * *

Everyone wanted to sleep that night, but almost no one did. Kate and Sawyer had volunteered to stay up and watch for rescue, but Locke stayed up in case they dozed off. Sayid stayed up with his gun, in case any of the Others broke free from the hatch. Ellie and Charlie stayed up all night talking and playing their guitars, too excited to sleep. Many other people talked instead of slept, and by one in the morning, it seemed more like one in the afternoon.

By the time daybreak came, Kate decided that it was time.

"We should bury him now," she told Sawyer, "before any planes get here."

Sawyer nodded, looking out onto the beautiful, mostly-dark horizon, and followed her to Jack's body. He knelt and gently picked him up, just like the day before.

"Uh," he said nervously, "should I just drop him?"

Kate looked uncomfortable, but she nodded. "I guess," she said.

Just as Sawyer leaned over the hole, Michael walked over to them. "Stop!" he said quickly, and Sawyer gladly stepped back.

"What is it?" Kate asked him.

"One second," he said. He ran to a tent, took something, and ran back. In his hands was a huge, nice, sturdy wooden casket.

"You _made _that?" Kate asked in disbelief.

Michael nodded. "There were a bunch of extra wood strips from when we were making the raft, and I just knotted everything together with bamboo strips. It's not great, but it's a casket."

Kate smiled thankfully and took it from him. Sawyer set Jack's body carefully into the casket. They adjusted his arms and legs the right way, and Sawyer turned back to Kate.

"I really shouldn't drop this down there," he said.

She bit her lip, deep in thought, and came up with a solution. "We can use a human chain," she decided. "You hold my legs, and I'll hold Walt's. We can set the casket down that way."

"Walt?" Michael asked in surprise. "I know he doesn't weigh much, but he can't carry that whole thing himself.

Kate nodded. "I know. We can attach it to cables from the ladder of the hatch."

"Why don't you just use those by themselves?" he asked, obviously not eager to have his son lowering a casket into a grave.

Kate sighed, looking annoyed. "Because they could break at any second," she snapped, obviously incredibly protective of Jack's body.

"Okay," Michael surrendered with a nod. Walt walked up to them and nodded, eager to help.

As the human chain lowered Jack's casket into the pit, people gathered around to prepare for the ceremony. It still wasn't completely light out, so they knew there was still plenty of hope for rescue.

"We are gathered here today," Kate said in a deep breath when they resurfaced, "to mourn the loss of a very important man." Another tear fell down her cheek. She decided that this had to be some kind of all-time record for crying, but after losing Jack, how could she not?

She'd never given any sort of funeral, but she did her best to.

"His name was Jack Shephard, and he was the reason many of us are still alive."

There was shuffling in the audience, but no one said anything. They kept their heads bowed, picturing Jack in their minds.

Kate took a deep breath and continued. "He had a lot of duties on the island that he didn't have to do, but he did them, because that's the kind of person he was."

Sawyer glanced down, feeling guilty. _He _certainly wasn't like that.

"Jack didn't deserve to die," Kate said softly, "but because he did, we will all remember him in respect and admiration."

A final tear trickled down her cheek as she took a step back, open for other people to talk.

Sayid said a few kind words about the doctor, Jake told some stories about working with him, and Claire told about how great Jack had been in the crisis with Boone and her baby. Charlie talked about how Jack never hesitated to stitch him up or help him with his withdrawals. Locke, however, had the best speech out of anyone, with the possible exception of Kate.

"Jack and I," Locke said, "had many, many differences. It didn't start out that way, but with the hatch and the prisoners, everything seemed to unwind into a battle." He paused, knowing that he wasn't the audience's favorite person right then. "But I have never seen someone so dedicated to other people. I was more dedicated to discovering new things on the island than I was to Boone's safety or to the people's hunger." Everyone nodded at that—all the times Locke could've been catching boar had gone to waste. "Jack wasn't that way. The people were always first with him, and that makes him a role model that everyone should look up to."

Everyone clapped, nodding understandingly, as Locke stepped back.

Kate didn't ask Sawyer to talk—she doubted he'd want to—but he did.

"Jack was the most committed guy here," Sawyer said in a completely honest voice. He was going to say 'Except the baby-napper,' but he changed his mind. "Even when he was having fun, you could tell he was on red alert. He fought for Michael and Walt, he confronted the Others, and then he fought them in war. But the thing is, he never wanted to fight. Even though they did so much to us, he didn't want to. He wouldn't let Sayid and Locke torture the prisoner, even though he knew he was an Other." He resisted calling Jack 'Doc,' Sayid 'Mohammad,' and Locke 'Gandhi.' "And we all heard him resist the battle."

Kate smiled proudly as he continued.

"He never did anything he wanted to do. He never did anything for himself. It was all for us, and _that's _why we should respect him."

Thunderous applause sounded, mostly because the people were so surprised that Sawyer would say anything. Once it died down, everyone took a handful of sand and dropped it over the casket. Finally Kate and Sawyer dug back over it. Just as they were building a cross for him, they heard a loud, gusting sound.

"Is that…?" Charlie asked in disbelief from beside Ellie. He put a hand over his forehead to shield the sun and looked up at the sky.

"Helicopters!" Ellie finished for him as they saw two big helicopters flying above them.

Everyone began frantically shouting and waving, gathering their already-packed suitcases and belongings together. Most of the people looked thrilled, but some of them didn't.

"This is it," Ellie muttered to Charlie.

He nodded, putting a supportive arm around her shoulders. "It'll be great," he told her comfortingly, but he wasn't so sure.

Sayid, Locke, and the other main 815 survivors, plus Jake, Andrew, and Jenny, all had the same reactions. What was there to go back to? For them, almost nothing. Not as good as it was here.

But one of the helicopters landed about ten meters away from them, stirring up a dust cloud out of sand but not enough to hurt anyone's eyes. The pilot stepped out and walked over to them.

"Are you the survivors of flight 815 and the _Expedition_ cruise liner?" he shouted excitedly.

Kate took leadership. Everyone had basically assumed it to her since Jack. "Yes," she replied, walking over to him. "We've been here for almost three months, and they've been here for a week and a half."

"We're all so sorry we didn't find you sooner," he said honestly. "Well, I already called in backup. Who should load up first?"

"Wait," Kate said nervously. "There were people before us. Murderers. Criminals. Liars."

He looked stunned. "Who are they?"

"This sounds childish, but we call them the Others," Kate said. "They kidnapped and murdered us, and finally we fought a war against them. We won. Now they're all in this hatch we found."

He blinked at her. "You found a hatch," he repeated.

She nodded. "There was a company called Dharma here before us and before the Others," she informed him. "We think the Others killed them all without knowing about the hatches. In any case, the Others are in this hatch in the jungle, and you might want to arrest them and bring them to a court room hearing. They'll probably try to kill you."

"Uh," he said, "I'll call in some police officers who can deal with them. Could you please wait until they get here to show them where these… Others are?"

Kate nodded and stepped back.

"Okay," he shouted to them, obviously surprised by the news. "I can take five people in this one. Let me have five people from Oceanic Flight 815 first."

Albert and Zach, both obviously mortified by the past turn of events, ran onto the helicopter. Two young girls from the _Expedition _followed, along with a guy in his thirties. The pilot waited until two other helicopters, each a little bigger than the next, landed before leaving.

There were seventy-two of them now, and minus the five who had left, there were still sixty-seven left to rescue.

"I can't believe it," Kate said once she reached Sawyer again. "We're saved."

But she didn't say it in a happy way.

Finally everyone besides Kate and Sawyer, including Rousseau and Alex, had gotten into helicopters. Three police helicopters landed, and the pilots stepped out to question Kate. Sawyer stayed with her.

"Ma'am," one of the officers said to her, "may I have your name?"

"Kate," she said shortly. "Look, the Others are down in the hatch. Do you want me to take you to them?"

"Kate Austen?" he asked, his eyes looking up at her warily.

She sighed and nodded.

"Were you," he asked, "on the plane with a marshal escorting you to your court hearing in LA?"

"Yes," Kate said, "but…"

He ignored her. He was already strapping handcuffs onto her. "Take her in," he ordered one of the co-captains. He turned to Sawyer. "Your name?"

"Sawyer," he said shortly, knowing his name wouldn't be on the manifest. "Look, I'm not showing you the hatch unless she comes with."

The man groaned. "First of all, we have no listing of a Sawyer, and secondly, if you do not follow our command, we have rights to arrest you."

"First of all, that's my nickname, and secondly, arrest all you want. But you gotta find those Others."

Kate smiled softly at his strong will.

"Fine," the officer said. "We'll keep her handcuffs on and let her lead us—with you—to the 'hatch,' as long as you tell us your real name."

"James Ford," Sawyer said immediately, watching the other helicopters fly into the distance.

He nodded. "Okay. James Ford, take us to this hatch."

**END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

Sorry if the rescue part was sudden, but it'd probably be sudden on the show, too.

Anyway, want to know what's coming up? I have it all planned out.

The next chapter, Homecoming, Part I, will have everyone landing back in Sydney. There'll be some of Kate and Sawyer bringing the police to the hatch and taking the Others away, and then everyone will meet up in Sydney. Wait and see for the rest.

Then comes Homecoming, Part II. A lot of decisions are made, and we'll find out what happens to Kate. After that is another chapter (I'm not sure about a title yet), and then the Epilogue. Hope you like everything! I'm sad that this story is coming to a close, but it was fun to write.

And now here are everyone's responses. By the way, I'm so glad everyone likes it—I never expected so much good feedback from this story—and thanks again for R&Ring.

**Charlotte Temples: **I know. But yeah, Charlie's okay, so yay! I wouldn't blame you for coming to my house and murdering me if I killed Charlie. And as for Sayid, I tend to forget about him a lot in this story, but I do really like his character, and I couldn't stand to kill him off, especially since he didn't have a big part in this. I agree—I'm a Sawyer person too—but you generally can't be both. Surprisingly, I haven't gotten any flames for killing Jack. YAY! Thanks for the review.

**CharliesHoodie: **Your reviews always make me happy: D Tell me when you write your Mary Sue story—I'd love to read it. And I completely agree about accented men. Thanks!

**astronomylover: **Aw, thank you! I'm glad I killed Jack off in the best way possible, and I hope you thought the funeral was appropriate. Thanks!

**xlostangelx: **Haha. I thought my decision was best, too. I can't stand to make a big deal out of a death of a character that wasn't even very major in my story (Sayid), and it's not like I'd ever kill Charlie. Thanks!

**meangenius: **I know, but it had to be someone hot to die, because it makes it all the more dramatic. Sean was just a random guy, and I figured I'd have to have more than one death, so I put his in there. Thanks!

THANK YOU, ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY!

—kissbangx3—


	14. Homecoming, Part I

Hello. I don't really have much to say, so here's your chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost or the episode Homecoming. I also don't own the police, the CIA, or the FBI.

Chapter Fourteen: Homecoming, Part I

**In the Jungle**

"Knock it off!" Sawyer shouted at the officers who were escorting Kate. She was twisting her arms, trying to make it more comfortable for herself, and they weren't giving her any room for comfort.

"You might want to stop telling us what to do," said one of the officers, "before we put _you _in cuffs."

Sawyer glared at him. "You wanna make this personal?" he asked furiously. "'Cause I can sue your asses for not finding us for three months."

The officers didn't look worried at all, but they stopped talking anyway.

"It's this way," Kate finally said, jutting her chin out in the right direction since her hands were bounded behind her back.

As they walked to the hatch's back door, Sawyer gave her a sympathetic glance. After all the trouble with the Others, now the real world was treating them cruelly, too.

"Okay," Kate said, "you have more handcuffs than these, right?"

The three officers nodded.

"Like that's gonna help," Sawyer snorted.

"Excuse you?" asked the head cop.

"Well, I just don't see how three guys with badges and a coupla handcuffs are going to hold _them _back," he said. "They're done bugging us, but they didn't say anything about you."

The officers looked worried, but they didn't say anything as they entered the hatch.

**Helicopter #4**

"Approaching destination."

Those words stunned everyone who heard them: Charlie, Ellie, Jake, Claire, Jenny, and Andrew. The six people had become close over the time spent on the island, and they had agreed to spend their last glimpses of the island together.

But they'd been flying for a while now, and below them was land: the beautiful land of Australia, with the sparkling city of Sydney approaching. Charlie and Claire had been waiting so long to be returned there, and the _Expedition _survivors had all agreed that being in Sydney would definitely be a fun new experience.

"It's gorgeous," Claire said in surprise when she looked out the window. She'd been sitting next to Jake the entire flight, but she hadn't slept with her head on his shoulder or anything like that. They'd chatted amiably, but there was nothing there, and finally Jake was realizing that sometimes a guy could just be friends with a girl. "I missed it so much." She gently rocked Aaron, who had been resting in her arms, and whispered, "This is where Mommy lives."

"Yeah, Turnip-Head," Charlie said with a grin. He was sitting across to Claire, next to Ellie, and the new couple had spent about half their time playing with Aaron's tiny fingers and toes. "You don't have to be adopted any more."

Jenny smiled as Andrew took her hand.

"Do you want that some day?" Andrew asked her gently. There was no pressure in the question.

Jenny smiled again. "You mean a child?"

He nodded. "Once we get married and all that jazz."

Jenny nodded. "Definitely."

Her response seemed to bring new life to everyone on the helicopter, and asthey flewabove Sydney, a warmth spread throughout the helicopter. Most of the people on it were nearly strangers, but over the past week, they had become the best of friends. And even though they were going back to their separate lives, they now shared a true bond.

**The Hatch**

"The worst ones are in there," Kate said, pointing her chin in the direction of Henry's cell. "That has their leader. But the psychics are in there. They're not powerful, but they can do some pretty weird stuff."

"Psychics?" asked one of the officers. "You believe in that stuff?"

"Didn't a psychic tell you where we were?" Sawyer asked.

The officer frowned. "It was an anonymous tip. But the caller ID _did _trace back an acclaimed psychic… his name was Malkin? He charged for it."

Kate nodded. "He's a real psychic. He called because these psychics contacted him. And he told you."

"So what'll they do, mess with my head?" one of them asked nervously.

Sawyer nodded. "Yep." He sincerely hoped this guy was scared out of his mind.

The officer looked frightened, but he slowly opened the psychics' door and inched in. One other officer followed him, and they closed the door behind them.

"What do you think they'll do?" Kate asked Sawyer nervously.

He shrugged, but his attention was focused on her handcuffs. How could anyone be so heartless? He had been expecting nothing but warm welcomes from their rescue teams, but the police were treating them almost as badly as the Others. This wasn't the world he wanted to go back to.

She scanned his face, and she was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking. "You don't want to go back, do you?" she asked quietly.

He looked back at her, and printed on his face was the sad expression she'd seen before. "No," he said, "I don't. But what can we do? It's not like we can stay here."

Kate bit her lip. She found herself wishing they could.

**Helicopter Landing Range in Sydney**

As Jack, Kate, and Sawyer had determined, most of the flight 815 survivors didn't have families waiting for them. Still, Claire knew her mom was out there somewhere, and Gin knew his dad would've come if he could afford the ticket. Sun's dad had sent a welcome party, but neither he nor her mother had come. Charlie, on the other hand, had his brother and his brother's family standing a few feet away from his group's helicopter. Andrew and Jenny both came from big families, which were frantically waving, and Jake's mom and dad were standing in their expensive clothes, looking eager. Ellie's sister Allison was waiting, a look of true happiness on her face to see her little sister again.

The first three helicopters had already landed, and everyone on them were being reunited with their families and/or friends, too. But everyone who had traveled on Helicopter #4, as well as some others, didn't want this. Some of them had feuds with their families, but some of them just wanted to go back to the simple life.

The door opened, and Jenny and Andrew were the first ones out. Just as they were talking, Charlie and Ellie stepped out. They parted first for a few minutes to meet up again with their siblings.

"Hey, baby brother!" Liam said excitedly, grabbing Charlie and hugging him. "I knew you hadn't died!" He stood back and smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry about our fight. It was all I could think about."

Liam's wife, Karen, smiled at Charlie. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said honestly. Back when Liam had been in Charlie's old position, she'd relied on Charlie to get messages to her future husband. In the process, they'd actually become friends, or something to that effect.

"Hi," said Megan, their daughter, in her young, innocent voice.

Charlie smiled down at her. "Hi," he said in reply.

"So what happened?" Liam asked. "Anything exciting?"

"You have no idea." Charlie shook his head. "The highlights? I kicked the drugs. It was my own choice, though the bloody island wouldn't let me forget them."

"Really?" Liam asked. "You're clean? For good?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. This old guy helped me."

"How were the withdrawals?" Liam asked softly, not wanting Megan to hear what they were saying.

"We had a doctor who helped me with that one."

* * *

"Ellie!" Allison squealed when she saw her sister. "You're okay! I knew I shouldn't have let you go on that stupid cruise!" She pulled her sister into a tight hug.

Ellie smiled and hugged her sister back. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said with a small smile.

Allison pulled back and gave her sister a serious look. "Don't ever do that to me again," she ordered, a smile and happy tears still on her face. "I can't lose you, too."

Ellie smiled. "I know."

**The Hatch**

When the officers came back out, they were practically whipping the psychics. What Kate couldn't understand was that the psychics were being perfectly obedient.

"Could you take it easy?" Kate asked. "They're not doing anything."

She had no idea why she said it, but it had something to do with the strength in the young girl when she had to contact Malkin.

The girl smiled and glanced at one of the officers. She closed her eyes and mouthed something. A second later, one of the officers unlatched Kate's handcuffs. She quickly threw them into one of the closets, knowing he wouldn't be looking for it.

The officer snapped out of his trance. "What just happened?" he demanded.

"You took her handcuffs off!" shouted another.

"Where are they?" the first asked Kate.

"I don't know. You threw them somewhere," she lied. "Look, I'll still do whatever you tell me. Just get the Others."

He started to pull another pair of handcuffs out, but the second officer shook his head. "Save it for the 'Others'," he said, putting air quotes around 'Others.'

Kate smiled contentedly. She knew the little girl had some good in her.

"We'll get the rest of them," two of the officers said to the third. "Take them back to the helicopter."

Kate and Sawyer finally sighed in relief. This was it. Even though they didn't want to go back to the real world, they wanted to get away from these people.

**Helicopter Landing Range in Sydney**

Just as everyone was introducing their new friends to their families, the reporters came. Most of them were in front near the first helicopter, but a few of them reached the fourth.

A blond girl followed by cameras holding a microphone bounded up to them, ignoring the flashbulbs going off around her. "Amelia Corvallis here, and I'm with an interesting five survivors. The first… is that… oh, yes it is, it's Charlie Pace of the rock band Driveshaft!"

Her loud assessment brought many more photographers and newscasters over to them. Amelia had already claimed Charlie, but a few people questioned Jake, recognizing him from his quarterback position on the football team.

Claire, Ellie, Andrew, and Jenny were prodded, too, but not because of fame.

"May I have your name?" one of them asked Claire.

"Uh, Claire Littleton," Claire stuttered, gripping Aaron protectively.

"How were you, Miss Littleton, at raising the baby on the island? Was his father there? Are you married?" asked the reporter, a fairly good-looking male.

"Uh, no, his father's somewhere in Australia. I wouldn't know," Claire said bitterly. "And it wasn't so bad. A lot of people helped me."

"Were you pregnant," the reporter asked, "on the flight?"

Claire slowly nodded.

The man looked excited. "So you delivered your baby on the island? Was there a doctor who helped you?"

"No," she sighed, "he was busy helping Boone, this other guy."

"Is he here?"

Claire shook her head. "He died."

"Can I have a last name?"

"Carlyle," she replied grimly.

He turned back to the camera. "We now know that there was at least one death post-crash: the death of Boone Carlyle."

As Ellie, Andrew, and Jenny were also being bombarded with questions, three official-looking people bounded up to them. The reporters backed off, and the only woman in the trio spoke.

"Hi," she said in a bold, loud voice to the four. "We've already told everyone else, and now we're telling you: My name is Cynthia Rowell, and I work for the police force. To my left is Erik Cummings of the CIA and to my right is Brad Summers of the FBI."

"We're not even in America," Claire whispered with a snort to Ellie, who laughed in response.

Charlie, who had made his way back, whispered in Ellie's ear, "Bloody Americans."

She laughed at that, too, but her heart was sinking. They were back to the political problems and everything else that proved that people from the real world could be just as heartless as the Others.

**The Beach**

"No tricks," the officer ordered Kate and Sawyer as they boarded the helicopter. "When we reach Sydney, there will be several people there who need your word on everything that has happened. Kate, once you have given it—in a proper set of handcuffs—you will have a court hearing to determine what happens. James, once you answer all questions, you will be escorted onto another plane that will take you to LA, where you can live the rest of your life. Your exile from Australia will still stand."

He closed their door and came into the helicopter again from the pilot's door. Before they knew it, they were back in the air. Apparently the Others would be riding the other helicopters.

"If you go to jail," Sawyer said to Kate, "it'll be in Australia, won't it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. My hearing was supposed to be in LA, but he said they just decided to have it in Sydney instead. So if I _am _ruled guilty, yeah, I probably will go to jail in Australia."

He looked stressed. "I can't stay in Australia," he said.

"I wouldn't want you to," she said honestly. "It's okay. I'll just find you when I get out, I guess. I mean, I doubt they'll lock me up for life."

He knew she probably wouldn't be locked up for life for the first offense, but running away so much could definitely be the cause of a longer sentence. He just hoped she was right.

**Interrogation House**

All the survivors had been taken by limousines to an interrogation house, but it wasn't for any offenses they had committed. There would be a court hearing for the Others, but not for them, at least not yet. Instead they were taken here, where the three officials would find out everything they could.

"How many of you were there originally?" Cynthia, the police woman, asked everyone. "A reporter mentioned that Boone Carlyle died after the initial crash. Was there anyone else?"

"Yes," Sayid said. He and Locke had agreed to be the ones to answer most of the questions. "A man named Scott, a woman named Joanne, and…" He winced at what he had to say next.

"Boone's stepsister," Locke finished for him in a gentle voice. "Shannon."

Cynthia whispered something to her assistant, who typed everything down on her iBook.

"So these… Others," said Erik, the CIA agent. "We don't want to go to court with the troubles from this 'war,' but we do have to straighten it out. We'll charge them with whatever you say. If they plead guilty, they'll be sentenced, and you'll all be left alone. But if they plead innocent, all of you will have to come to court."

"Welcome back," Charlie muttered to Ellie. She laughed slightly, keeping her attention focused on the agents.

"Okay," Brad (the FBI agent) said, "who in this room fired a gun?"

Every single person, save the few people including Claire, Natalie, and Jenny, raised their hands.

"Okay," he repeated slowly.

"I have a question," Hurley said quietly. The agents all looked at him, so he continued. "What're you going to do with the island? I mean, now that it's—"

Three loud moans sounded at the same time, interrupting him and bringing everyone's attention to the moaners. Locke had fallen suddenly to the floor, and Rose was bent over in pain. Sun had sunk to the ground, her hand exhaustedly on her stomach, where her future baby would be. Bernard rushed to Rose's side, as did Jin to Sun.

The three of them recovered quickly, but Rose looked weaker, and Locke couldn't bring himself to stand. Sun stood shakily, but she looked nervous.

"Wait." Erik glanced down at Locke as everyone else panicked. "You're John Locke, right?"

John nodded from the ground. His legs were stretched out stiffly in front of him, and as suddenly as he'd lost his paralysis, it had come back.

"It says you were handicapped… paralyzed from the waist down," Erik continued.

"I think this proves that," Locke sighed.

"But you were just…"

Hurley walked over to them, interrupting Erik's confusion. "Sorry. You never answered my question."

Erik shrugged. "We'll send people over to examine everything. We'll probably send some doctors to find out about this vaccine and how the island 'cured' those two patients."

"Oh."

"We're not sure, though," Erik explained. "Technically speaking, the land belongs to Fiji. They might not give us permission to investigate it."

"So what, people will start living there?" Hurley asked.

No one else was listening at this point besides Erik. Everyone's attention was focused on Locke's explanation about his paralysis and Rose's explanation about her cancer. Sun and Jin were talking in rushed, frantic voices about what had happened. Was it possible that the miracle that created their baby was taking it back?

"What'll probably happen is, some rich celebrity will buy the whole island from Fiji and make it an island resort of theirs," Erik explained. He turned back to the rest of them and shouted, "No further questions. You'll be escorted to a five-star hotel, where your airline will pay for your overnight stays."

But Hurley's mind was focused on what he had said before that. _Some rich celebrity will buy the whole island. _

**Police Helicopter**

"Can you write people?" Sawyer asked. "I mean, when you're in jail?"

Kate laughed. "You and your letters," she teased, referring to the Dear Mr. Sawyer letter he carried around with him everywhere.

He sent her a playful glare. "Just askin'," he said in his defense.

"It's okay." She considered the question. "The old marshal wouldn't have let me, but now I can probably send and receive letters." She grinned. "You'd really remember?"

He nodded. "Sure," he said with a smile.

She smiled back. "And when I'm on trial, you can come visit me and talk to me over the phone thing."

"If I'm allowed in Australia," he reminded her.

She frowned. "Oh, yeah."

He gently touched her hand. "Don't worry about it, Freckles," he said supportively. "We'll figure this out."

Beneath all her worry was the hope that had always been there. Usually she channeled that hope into escape, so she ran. But now she channeled her hope into being with Sawyer, and she knew that was what would keep her from running.

* * *

"Approaching destination," the officer said, just as Helicopter #5's pilot had.

Kate wasn't exactly scared of a rough landing, after everything she'd been through, but she took Sawyer's hand anyway. It wasn't just because of the landing. It was because of what would be waiting for her when she landed. As she looked out the window, she could already see Sydney squad cars waiting for her arrival. Sawyer gritted his teeth, obviously not too pleased with seeing them, either.

Finally they had a slightly bumpy, but still safe, landing. The pilot carefully let them out, where handcuffs were strapped onto both Kate and Sawyer.

"Hey," he said, "why me?"

"You have a shady past," explained one of the officers, "and you aren't supposed to be here."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said sarcastically. "Did you just want me to hang out on Craphole Island for the rest of my life?"

He didn't mention that he didn't find this to be such a terrible idea.

"Where are we going?" Kate asked before the officer could reply.

"The rest of your friends are staying at a five-star hotel," he explained. Kate and Sawyer's looks brightened, but the officer snorted. "You two don't get that luxury. You'll both be taken to the interrogation house, where we'll ask you a series of questions. From there, unless she finds some means of bail, Ms. Austen will be taken to the jailhouse. Mr. Ford will be taken to the airport, where he will immediately be flown out of the country."

Kate's eyes flew to Sawyer's with a sad look in them. They wouldn't even have a chance to kiss good-bye at this point.

"Ms. Austen, this car," said the first officer. He shoved her into his squad car. They did the same with Sawyer in a different one.

"See ya when we're bein' questioned," Sawyer said grimly to Kate before the officers rolled their widows up.

**Ellie and Allison's Suite**

Hotel rooms were restricted to families, so only the married couple, Rose and Bernard, and the engaged couple, Andrew and Jenny, were allowed to stay together.

That, however, didn't stop them from seeing each other. When Ellie and Allison reached their suite, there was a black Post-It on their door. Ellie grabbed it before Allison saw it. Charlie had scribbled on it, in silver Sharpie, _Go on your balcony 8pm. –CP_

Now that she was back in the real world, the fact that Charlie Pace was leaving her signed Post-Its was almost shocking. But then she remembered everything they'd been through and relaxed. She knew Allison was surprised by her change of attitude too at this point, but she didn't say anything.

Allison had brought a ton of her old stuff, and most of it was heartbreaking to Ellie—old presents from Jake, signed footballs in case he ever became famous, and all his old jerseys. She almost laughed when she found a ring amongst all the tickets and trinkets from her past with Jake. It was Driveshaft's Second Tour of Finland ring. One of the guys in Charlie's band had sold theirs pretty cheap on eBay, and she'd bought it. She saw the same one on Charlie's finger on the island, but she hadn't said anything.

As she sifted through everything, she realized with a sinking heart that she didn't have good memories from the real world. She loved Allison, but her sister had always been on the job. She was a really good lawyer. Ellie didn't like lawyers, but after all the years of law school Allison had endured after Emory, she supported her sister.

But now she realized all her good memories were from the island. She felt a nostalgia for the island, and even though Jack wouldn't be there any more, she wanted to go back. It had been the high point of her life, and she knew that her life here would probably go back to having only low points.

**Charlie, Liam, and Karen's Suite**

"You're back," Liam said as they sat down. He still seemed shocked by the news.

Charlie laughed, pulling out a bottle of Coke from the small fridge in the main room of the suite. "Sure am," he said. "But if you want to sue that bloody airline, feel free."

Liam laughed as Karen put Megan down for bed. "Nah," he said. "I'm done with the legal stuff."

Charlie nodded, but a stress seemed to shadow his face. "I should've figured," he admitted, but not in a mean or sarcastic way.

"So what're you going to do when you get out of here?" Liam asked. "You can stay with us for a while, if you want, but you have to be completely clean if you want to be able to spend time with Megan."

Charlie smiled. "As much as I want to spend time with my adorable niece…" He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm moving to America."

Liam raised his eyebrows. "On what money?" he asked. "And why?"

"I'm sure the airline will arrange something for me," Charlie said with a grin. "Anyway, I'm moving to America, where I will find a job and rent an apartment until I have enough money for a house."

"_Why_?" Liam repeated with interest.

"Because I want to," Charlie said simply. He didn't tell Liam he was moving for Ellie, because he knew his brother wouldn't understand—at least, not yet. But he really did want to, so he wasn't lying.

He just didn't mention that the thing he wanted most was to stay on the island. He couldn't explain it, exactly, but it seemed like everything was better there. He'd quit the drugs, he'd learned how to be a father, and he'd met the girl of his dreams. And in that, he'd even managed to be a decent boyfriend to her. It was a great life, one that he doubted could be duplicated in America or anywhere else.

**Interrogation House**

"My first question," Cynthia said to Kate when she and Sawyer arrived, "is…" She raised her eyes to meet Kate's and asked loudly and demandingly, "Did the marshal die during the crash?"

Kate shook her head. She wasn't in the mood for lies. She'd tell only the truth. She hadn't done anything she was ashamed of on the island. She wished she could've reversed Jack's death, but she had grown so that she wasn't even ashamed of that. "No," she said, "he didn't. He got a huge hunk of metal stuck in him. We spent the first few days trying to save him. We had the doctor, Jack Shephard, work on him, but he couldn't do anything."

"So he died from the metal gash?" Brad asked her.

She gulped. "No. Jack told us the gash would have him die slowly and painfully, and we didn't want that to happen to him."

"So what did you do?" asked Erik.

"There was a gun," Kate said shakily, "that he had on the plane."

"He had quite a few on the plane," Cynthia clarified. "Are you referring to the one he was carrying with him?"

Sawyer nodded. "She is. I took it from him on the plane."

"Write that on the record," Cynthia muttered to her assistant. "Sawyer, why did you take the gun?"

He sighed and replied the same thing he had before. "Thought it might come in handy. Guess what? I shot a _polar bear, _and then a bunch of lunatics tryin' to kill us. I'd say that's handy."

"You shot a polar bear," Erik repeated in disbelief.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes. There was a polar bear on a tropical island. It stunned us all. If you don't believe us, ask any of the others." Her voice was dripping with annoyance and sarcasm, but she couldn't help it. She was in a room with a Fed, a police officer, and a CIA agent. She couldn't help but feel that way.

"So who decides what happens to me?" Kate asked.

"A judge," Brad replied simply. "In a few days. But first, you're being taken to the jailhouse."

Kate bit her lip. "So I guess the interrogation is done?"

Cynthia shrugged. "I guess. We'll investigate the island further if Fiji ever approves us. They say they're looking for buyers, though, and that's not us."

Kate and Sawyer shrugged at each other.

"So I'm guessing you don't have anyone to bail you out?" Erik asked. Normally in Kate's situation, bail wouldn't be allowed, but she had spent a lot of time 'building character,' and the bail was a lot of money, so it had been agreed that bail was allowed.

Sawyer wanted to, but he had basically no money to his name. He gave Kate a helpless shrug that said he wished he could do more. She smiled at him to tell him it was okay and turned back to the officers.

"No," she said, "I don't."

"Correction," said a familiar voice from behind them. Through the doorway walked in Hurley, looking excited. "I'll bail her out."

"Hurley, you don't—" Kate started.

"I really am a millionaire," Hurley explained. "It's no big deal."

Kate gaped at him as he wrote a check to Erik, the police officer. "I'll pay for her to have a stay at the suite, too," he added quickly.

"That won't be necessary," Erik said, still shocked by the interruption. "The airline will pay for it." He turned to Sawyer. "Mr. Ford, your ticket will be here momentarily. You'll fly to LA again."

Sawyer nodded grimly.

"Actually, could he have a delay on that?" Hurley asked. "There's something I want to ask everyone. Everyone who was on the island, I mean. Could we just have a little meeting in the hotel lounge or wherever? Then you can fly him out."

"Fine," Cynthia said, before the men could object. She was obviously the most lenient of the three.

"What question?" Sawyer asked Hurley once they were outside.

"Who cares?" Kate said happily. "He just saved both our asses."

**END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Up next: Homecoming, Part II! It'll tell you what Hurley's question is, you'll find out what happens to Kate and Sawyer, and of course there'll be stuff about everyone else.

Alrighty… here are my review responses.

**xlostangelx: **Aw, thank you. When I looked back, I thought I should've dedicated that chapter to you, but I forgot. (Since you gave me the I Never idea, I mean.) But if you want a chapter dedicated to you, tell me, and I will. There's 15, 16, and 17 left. Thanks for the idea and the review!

**ZanderBoy: **I hoped people liked my Lost ideas, since really I have no idea what I'm talking about and they're all pretty much made up. Thanks!

**samdean4567: **I feel bad for Kate too, but at least Hurley bailed her out in this chapter! Thanks for the review, and yep, I'm almost done! (sniff)

**astronomylover: **I'm glad you liked it. I feel so bad about killing Jack, so I'm hoping to make everything right in his… absence. Thanks so much!

**CharliesHoodie: **Your reviews are so supportive! You're very, very nice. Do you want a chapter dedicated to you? It's the least I could do. (big smile) Thanks!

THANK YOU EVERYONE! You keep me from giving up on my story and you keep my life interesting. I mean, it's summer, so without your reviews I'd have pretty much NOTHING to do. So thanks!

(kissbangx3)


	15. Homecoming, Part II

Hello again! I don't have much to say so… let's get to it, I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost or the episode, Homecoming.

Dedication: This one's dedicated to **CharliesHoodie** because of all fourteen of your very nice, very sweet, very encouraging reviews. Thanks so much! I'd also like to thank **samdean4567, **who has reviewed almost every chapter with nice, sweet, encouraging reviews, too.

Chapter Fifteen: Homecoming, Part II

**5th Floor Hotel Lounge (Reserved for Crash Survivors Only)**

Everyone was walking around the lounge, chatting amiably and having some fun. Hurley had set up the entire meeting, and he'd said that family and friends weren't allowed—it was only the people who had been on the island. With all the green plants and furnishings, plus the same company, it almost felt like they were on the island again. And, for most of them, it wasn't a bad feeling.

"What do you reckon this is about?" Charlie asked Ellie. They were both sitting on a comfortable green sofa. Claire was sitting near them in a reclining chair, cradling Aaron. Rose and Bernard were near them in the corner of the room, talking in hushed voices.

Ellie frowned. "I don't know. But did you know Hurley's a millionaire?"

"_What_?" Charlie asked in disbelief.

Claire nodded. "It's true. I just talked to the hotel manager, and he said Hurley's bringing Kate and Sawyer back here. He paid for Kate's bail, and he smooth-talked the agents into letting Sawyer stay here an extra night."

"I thought he was joking!" Charlie muttered, feeling guilty for doubting his friend. He remembered their discussion. _I bear my soul to you, and all I get is sodding jokes!_ That hadn't been a joke. Hurley really was a millionaire.

"Well, at least we get to see Kate again," Ellie said optimistically, again surprising herself.

Claire laughed. "Not looking forward to seeing Sawyer?"

Ellie grinned. "Only if he brings those steam-rolled-Harry-Potter glasses with him."

They all laughed good-naturedly, not noticing the bickering couple in the corner. But Rose and Bernard were beyond serious.

"We have to get back there!" Bernard was insisting. "Your cancer's coming back, isn't it?"

Rose looked like she was avoiding the question. She scanned the room for Sun and Locke. Sun was lying down on a sofa, looking pale and weak, Jin looking stressed at her side. But she couldn't find Locke. "Where's John?" she asked Bernard.

Her husband shrugged, looking annoyed. "Probably still in his suite. But you have to listen to me, Rose. I've got enough money—I can fly us down there, and maybe work out some kind of deal where we can build a house on the island…"

"Bernard," Rose said exhaustedly, "as thankful as I am for your support, there's no way you're going to be able to buy a house on that island, and I doubt you have enough money to buy the whole island. It doesn't matter, though. We both knew this would come. We'll deal with it."

"But—"

Rose shook her head, dismissing the subject entirely, and scanned the room another time for Locke. "I'm going to see if he's all right," she told Bernard. "I have a feeling that the island helped him, and now it's taking back from him, too."

Bernard sighed and nodded as his wife left.

Rose made her way to Locke's suite, where she gently knocked. "John? It's Rose."

"Uh, sorry, Rose, could you come back later?" Locke asked through the door.

Rose sighed. "I can," she said with a shrug, "but I just wanted to make sure you're all right."

"I'm fine," he said agitatedly.

Rose paused, but continued. "Did the island… _do _anything to you, John? Because it healed me. I had cancer."

Another pause. Locke was obviously thinking.

"I'm paralyzed," he finally said. "From the waist down."

Rose didn't gasp or sound disappointed. She just smiled and said, "Do you have a wheelchair?"

"Yeah," he said sadly. She knew it wasn't something he was proud of.

"Then come on," she said brightly. "Hugo has some very important matters to discuss with us, and I think it will be one of the last times we'll see each other. Everyone will be surprised you're in a wheelchair, but it won't affect what they think of you."

He snorted from the other side of the door. _That's what you think, _he thought to himself, but he knew he should go out. Finally he wheeled himself up to the door, opened it, and came out. Rose smiled gently and took the handles of his chair, pushing him back to the lounge. Together they knew that if they didn't find a way to restore the island's gift, the rest of their lives would be meaningless.

* * *

"Everybody's here," Hurley said happily once he entered the room with Kate and Sawyer. Everyone rushed to greet them, but Kate couldn't help but feel terrible that Jack wasn't there. It was still setting that he wasn't there any more, and the familiar faces didn't seem right without him.

But she shook her thoughts away, because she knew this was one of the last times she'd see these people, and she'd have to put on a happy face. She took Sawyer's hand and turned to Hurley as the talking died down.

"Thanks for coming," Hurley said. He wasn't very good at public speaking, but all the lottery fame had done him some good, and he'd talked at the funerals. He was used to talking to these people. "I just had an idea that's probably crazy, but I wanted to run it by you all. And besides that, I figured it'd be nice to, like, hang out some more." He added silently, _I wish you were with us, Libby, _but he didn't want to bring down the party.

"What's your idea?" Charlie asked from his seat, since no one was saying anything.

Hurley smiled, glad that at least someone was interested. "Well, as most of you probably figured out, I'm kind of a millionaire," he said, but it sounded like more of a question. Most of them nodded knowingly, but a few of them were startled. "Anyway, I was talking to the agent dudes back at the interro-whatever house, and they said that Fiji was, like, selling the island."

Rose, who had found her way back to Bernard, looked excited. He had to admit, if Hurley was going to say what he expected, this could be great.

"So I figured, maybe I _should _buy the island. But I'd only want to go if a lot of you guys did, because you were the best part, and I know you all have lives and all, so…"

Bernard piped in. No one was saying anything besides the faint Korean chatter of Sun translating for Jin. "Look, that sounds great, but we have to be realistic. None of us can have paying jobs on the island, and…"

"We could," Hurley said hopefully. "I mean, like, we could make it our own little state or whatever. We could have a mayor and we could maybe hire one of the college students as our new doctor…" He paused to honor Jack for a minute. "And I can hire some guys to build us houses, but after that, Michael can help with construction problems and stuff." Michael looked pleased. "And Charlie and Ellie can have gigs we can go to," he added hopefully. The young couple immediately perked up. "And Sawyer, you could, like, sell all the stuff you've collected and be a businessman or whatever," he said to Sawyer.

Sawyer snorted but said nothing. It wasn't a bad idea.

"This is insane," said Mischa, one of the girls from the _Expedition. _"I just spent an entire week praying that we'd be rescued, and now you want to go back there?"

A lot of people agreed with her, but some of them looked like they were considering it. Locke and Rose were eager for it, and Sun seemed to know that the island had given her her baby, and the island could take it away. Jin knew it was the perfect opportunity to escape the wrath of Sun's father and his partners, and Charlie and Ellie liked the idea of playing by themselves—it had the fun of being in a band without the wild public and financial issues.

"What do you think?" Kate asked Sawyer.

"I think I don't have anything else to do," Sawyer said, "but that I really don't see myself as a businessman."

Kate laughed. "I think you should go."

He narrowed his eyebrows in concern. "And not you?"

"Well, do you really think the judge would let me?"

"I actually think it's a pretty good opportunity," he said, sounding more intelligent than usual. "I mean, what's the most harm you could do on an island with fifty or so people?"

"But what kind of job would I have?" Kate asked. "Hurley sounds like he wants this to be like the real world, and if he's buying it, he calls the shots."

"Why don't you be our mayor?" Sawyer suggested.

Kate laughed. "Don't tell the judge that. He'll think I'm starting an anarchy or something."

"I'm serious," Sawyer pushed. "They listen to you, Freckles."

Kate couldn't even begin to imagine being a mayor, but the thought of going back to the island (and not jail) seemed more than a little tempting. But as she and Sawyer stopped talking, everyone else did, and Hurley continued.

"I'm not saying everyone has to go," he said. "I mean, I don't want everyone to go. But at least some of you would be, like, awesome."

"If we really worked everything out right," Claire said, "I think it'd be a great opportunity. But I have no idea what kind of job I'd have."

"You should be a teacher!" Ellie suggested excitedly. "Well, or a daycare lady, or whatever. You're so great with kids. You can get a license and teach Walt, if Michael agrees, and you can take care of Aaron, and if Jenny and Andrew have kids…"

Claire considered it as Hurley spoke.

"So could I have, like, a show of hands, who's interested? No promises, just an idea."

Kate slowly raised her hand. Seeing that she did, Sawyer did, too. Rose, Bernard, and Locke did, and after a moment's hesitation, so did Sun. She convinced Jin, who also raised his hand. Claire raised her hand, and after whispering a little, Charlie and Ellie raised their hands. Michael took Walt aside to discuss it, but when they came back, they nodded in agreement. Jenny and Andrew raised their hands pretty quickly, and Eko raised his large, dark arm confidently. Jake raised his hand halfway in consideration, but everyone else looked furious at the thought. Apparently it was just those seventeen, plus Hurley.

"Awesome," Hurley finally said. "Well, uh, I guess that's it. You can all just talk it over with your families and all, and tomorrow I'll call some lawyers in."

Everyone split apart after that, but the talking was elevated even more.

"Are we really doing this?" Charlie asked Ellie eagerly. "It just seems so… impossible."

"I don't think Allison will go for it," Ellie said with a light laugh, "but I could probably convince her to let me. She doesn't technically have jurisdiction over me, anyway."

"Liam'll understand," Charlie said with a nod of certainty. "He's got a family of his own—he doesn't really care if I live my life."

"I can't believe it," Ellie sighed. "Wow. It's not every day you befriend a millionaire and he pays for you to move to an island."

**Ellie and Allison's Suite**

"_What_?" Allison asked in disbelief as soon as Ellie told her. "You want to go back there?"

Ellie nodded. "I know it sounds ridiculous, Al, but it's really not. I had the best time on the island, and I love all those people. When I go back there, it'll be the same, but with much more security. It'll be real life, but better."

"Ellie, you fought a _war _last time you were there!" Allison scoffed. "How great can your memories be?"

"I don't fit in anywhere else," Ellie said softly, looking desperate. "Okay? It's like all my life I just went along in my own weird way. I was with the same people I'd always known, but I didn't mesh with them. I just couldn't. It was my nature to be different, but I tried to be the same."

Allison looked sad as she let her sister continue.

"You know how you always told me I 'spited' people?" Ellie asked. "Well, everything changed on the island. I didn't do that any more. I didn't spite people, and I wasn't so different. The more time I spent on the island, the more I felt relaxed and at ease. I never knew that before, but it was great. It's not just the people—it's everything about that place."

Allison guiltily looked down. This was everything she wanted for her sister.

"I work there," Ellie explained. "I just… work. I fit in. I mesh."

"I know," Allison said finally.

"But I don't want to go if we end on bad terms," Ellie said. "You're the most loyal person in my life." Charlie was close, but she'd known her sister for so much longer.

"Then let's not have it end," Allison said with a grin.

"What?" Ellie asked in confusion.

"They got a lawyer on that island?"

"You'll come?" Ellie said, her green eyes sparkling. She smiled and hugged her sister, then pulled back, an idea forming in her head. "Wait a minute. You don't mind being a lawyer for them?"

Allison shook her head. "Nah. We have enough money, anyway. I'll do it for free until they have money."

Ellie glanced up hopefully at her sister. "Then do you think you could help out my friend?"

**Kate's Suite**

Kate glanced up from the book she was reading when she heard a knock on the door. When she answered it, she saw someone she recognized but couldn't place.

"Hi," the girl greeted her brightly. She looked to be in her early thirties, and she had well-kept red hair. "I'm Allison."

Kate nodded. "Right. Ellie's sister." She led Allison to two of the comfortable chairs in her suite. They both sat down.

Allison finally answered Kate's assessment. "That's me. Listen, Ellie told me about your situation. You have to go to a court hearing soon, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Kate said awkwardly. "It's tomorrow. They'll decide if I go to the island or to jail, basically."

Allison nodded again. "Right. May I ask if you have a lawyer in mind?"

Kate shook her head. "No. They're sending a public lawyer over in the morning, I guess. I can't afford a lawyer."

"You know, I'm coming with Ellie," Allison said, seemingly changing the subject. "To the island."

"That's great," Kate managed, confused. What did that have to do with their conversation?

"I'm a lawyer," Allison explained. "I figured they could use a lawyer for all the legal stuff they'll have to go through."

"Okay," Kate said with a shrug.

"I was wondering if you wanted me to be your lawyer," Allison explained. "In your hearing tomorrow. I know your whole story, and I can work on the case tonight."

"Oh." Kate interpreted this. "_Oh._"

Allison nodded, smiling. "What do you think?"

"Well, like I said, I really can't afford a lawyer," Kate admitted.

"Don't worry about it," Allison said with a big smile. "It's on me. Consider it a thanks for being a good person."

"Me?" Kate asked in surprise. "Why would you say that?"

Allison shrugged. "Ellie doesn't know you too well, but she saw everything you went through with Jack and everyone else. And you were a really good leader in the end. Ellie really admires you. You're a role model to her. Consider this a thanks for that."

Kate didn't think she'd ever heard anything more heartwarming than that. "Wow," she managed to say. "Then… I guess…" She smiled. "I'd love to have you be my lawyer," she said. "Thank you."

**Sun and Jin's Suite**

**(Korean written as English)**

"I don't understand," Jin was saying as he paced around the room.

"Remember how you said that we would consider the baby a miracle?" Sun asked. She knew that her only chance of returning to the island would be if she could get Jin to understand that they might not even have their baby any more.

"Yes," Jin said with a nod. "But what does that—"

"The island gave us that chance," she explained, interrupting him. "Otherwise I would not be pregnant. I think that, once we left, the island took that away from us."

His eyes widened. "You're not pregnant any more?" he demanded.

"I may not be," she sighed. She hadn't started showing, so it was hard for her to tell. "I cannot be sure, but I can't feel anything. I always knew when the baby was inside me, and now…"

"We have to get to the hospital," Jin said quickly. "You translate. They have taxis here."

Sun smiled. She'd been worried that Jin would be like his old self in the real world, but he wasn't.

* * *

"I'm sorry," the doctor told Sun and Jin when he got the ultra scan results back, "but there is no record of Sun ever having been pregnant. Sun, are you sure the test was right?"

Sun nodded. "It was. I could tell. And there was a doctor, and he said they were almost always accurate!"

Jin took her hand. Even though he couldn't understand them, he had a feeling he knew what had happened.

"Almost always," the doctor said, "isn't the same thing as always. I'm terribly sorry, but there's nothing I can do." He shrugged, led them to the main room, and left.

Jin turned to Sun quickly. (Translated.) "What did they say?" he demanded.

"He said there was no record of my ever having been pregnant," Sun sighed. "I think I was right, Jin. The island gave back Locke's paralysis and Rose's cancer. Now it's taking back my baby."

"If we go back, will the same baby return to you?" Jin asked her.

She shrugged. "I have no idea, but it seems to me it's worth a try."

Jin smiled and kissed her forehead. "Then that is what we'll do," he said, and they left to find a taxi.

**Kate's Hearing**

"So you want to move to the island you crashed on," the judge summarized after Allison explained Kate's situation. Everyone from the crash was in the audience. It wasn't an actual hearing because it didn't have a jury, but everyone had insisted on showing up, anyway.

Kate nodded. "I do, Your Honor."

"Do you realize," the judge asked, "that you could be sentenced to up to a lifetime in jail?"

Kate bit her lip. "I understand."

Allison had told Kate the night before that this was like a preliminary hearing. It wasn't to determine how many years she'd spend in prison; it was only to decide whether or not she could move to the island. If she could move to the island, her case would be dropped, at least until she moved back to the real world. If she stayed, she would go to another hearing that determined the rest of her life.

"Ms. Sanders, why do you think I should let Ms. Austen move?" the judge asked Allison.

"I think the island is the best possible place for her," Allison said boldly. "According to the survivors, she was a huge help and never caused any trouble on the island. As a matter of fact, a poll taken with the survivors said that, if they had to choose anyone, they would choose Ms. Austen to be their leader."

"Objection." The hearing didn't have an actual prosecutor, but in order to keep the courtroom balanced, they had hired a lawyer to come in at the moments a prosecutor would. "The results of a poll would have to go into additional research and background verification that cannot be performed in the courtroom."

The judge nodded. "Understood."

Kate glanced at Allison, who quickly spoke.

"The survivors of the crash are with us in the audience," Allison said, turning halfway to face the survivors. "I can repeat the question for them now." The judge nodded, so Allison continued. "Survivors of flight 815 and the _Expedition,_ raise your hands if you think Kate would make a wonderful leader some day, and that she was helpful and good her entire stay on the island."

All the survivors' hands shot up in the air.

The judge almost smiled. "Understood," she repeated. "Ms. Austen, is there anything you regret doing on the island?"

Allison rushed to Kate's aid. "With all due respect, Your Honor, that's a very vast question with many possible responses."

"Point well taken," the judge said with a curt nod. She turned back to Kate. "Emotions and relationships excluded," she said, "do you regret any actions you made involving guns, leadership decisions, or anything of that nature?"

Kate considered this. "I wish I didn't have to use guns," she finally said. "I wish I didn't have to convince them to start a war. But it got us off the island, so no, I don't regret it."

"Are you aware that your 'war' story has made it all across the headlines of the world?" the judge asked. "Starting a war, even when there are no police anywhere, is not something to be done lightly."

"I completely understand," Kate said, ignoring the light buzz of talking that had erupted in the audience. Obviously no one had known about how famous they were. "It wasn't done lightly. Everyone was involved in the debates beforehand, and we went through a voting process. Over half of us wanted to start the war, so we did."

"You started a war that ended in two casualties of your own people," the judge reminded her.

"And you have no idea how much those casualties meant to me," Kate said, her mind once again fluttering back to Jack. "But it could've been a lot worse, and like I said, it got us off the island. We'd been there for months, and we were getting desperate."

"What would you do?" the judge asked. "Even though these people want you to be their leader, I wouldn't give you authorization to do so for at least a few years."

Kate shrugged. "I'm not sure what to expect," she explained. "I'll do whatever needs to be done. We'll probably just order food, but if not, I can scavenge for fruits and other food."

The judge nodded. "As long as Ms. Sanders has nothing further, I'll take a short break to review everything and make a decision."

Allison spoke. "I just want to say that Kate knows what she did was wrong. She's done running. If you chose to put her in jail, she'd go. But this is a much better opportunity, and I think it'll make her a better person in the end."

The judge nodded again. "Thank you."

"Nothing further," Allison concluded. The judge nodded and exited the room for her break.

* * *

Everyone wanted to talk to Kate, but spent the whole break with Sawyer. She felt guilty about it, but if the judge ruled in her favor, she'd have a lot of time to converse with everyone. She spent her time with Sawyer in case the judge sent her to prison.

"Did the redhead say anything to you?" Sawyer asked her. Obviously he was running out of good nicknames.

Kate shrugged. "Not really. She said we made a pretty good case, but at this point, it's all just the judge's opinion."

He snorted. "I never knew why lawyers cost so much."

"She's free," Kate explained with a grin.

He laughed. "I bet," he teased, but he knew she was a perfectly fine lawyer. Instead he changed the subject. "So what're we going to do Her Honor lets you go?" he asked. "About the memorial thing, I mean," he added when she gave him a look.

"Oh," she said, and considered the question. "I don't know. We can ask everyone for donations, I guess. I'm sure the state would give us some."

He laughed. "You might wanna use a fake name, though," he joked.

She knew what he meant—she doubted the state would ever approve of her, no matter how much good she did.

But the judge came back, and she decided things couldn't be too bad when she said, in a clear and certain voice:

"Ms. Austen, I have ruled in favor of your move to the island."

**5th Floor Hotel Lounge (Reserved for Crash Survivors Only)**

"Allison helped me with everything," Hurley said. A few days had passed with them still staying in the luxurious suites, and everything had been taken care of. Now everyone who was going to move were sitting in the lounge again for a final meeting. "The island now belongs to me!"

They all laughed and cheered. Somehow this was exactly what they all wanted.

"So what're we going to do about jobs and stuff?" Walt asked curiously.

"Claire got a license to teach," Ellie said, proud of her new friend. She and Claire continued to bond even back in the real world, and they were both each other's best friends. "You'll be learning from her."

Walt groaned. "So there'll be school?"

Michael grinned as he put an arm around his short son's shoulders. "It'll be fun," he assured him.

Claire nodded. "It will, I promise."

"I'm premed," Jenny offered, "and I'm getting my doctorate over the Internet."

"I hired a bunch of construction people to build houses, and they're putting cell towers up so we can have actual communication with the outside world," Hurley added with a grin.

The cheering continued. For the first time ever, every one of them was happy.

**END OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Only 2 chapter left! The next one won't be posted for a while, because I'm going to my friend's lake house, but hopefully it'll be up by next Wednesday. Sorry, but everyone deserves vacation! Anyway, here are the (2) responses.

**CharliesHoodie: **Here's your chapter! I hope you liked it. Yeah, I'm planning to write more, but I don't have a clue what it'll be about, so it'll probably be a while. Sorry! If Charlie can get through withdrawals, you can, too! As usual, thanks a ton for your uber-sweet review.

**samdean4567: **Yep, you guessed everything right. Thanks for all your reviews, they're so nice:P

Until Wednesday-ish—

KISSBANGX3


	16. Return

I have returned! Unfortunately, the next chapter (the last one) won't be as long as the others, and it'll take longer, because I'm going on vacation! (Last time I went to my friend's lake house; now I'm going to Florida.) But expect the last chapter by… eh. Uh, probably a week from Friday? Sorry, best I can promise.

Dedication: This one's for **xlostangelx**, who has also reviewed my stories faithfully. She also (you are a she, right?) writes stories that are really good, so check them out sometime! She's writing a Hubby story, The Key to the Heart, that's really good.

Disclaimer: Lost is not mine. Or the island. Or Charlie. Or the plane. Why does ABC get all the good stuff? Lifestyles of the rich and the famous, I guess. (sniff) Anyway, I also don't own any of the songs I used in the music battle. And the idea for the party was given to me in a review by **CowboyswithDimples** (awesome name), so thanks for that!

Chapter Sixteen: Return

**Sydney Airport**

"Are you sure you want to give Oceanic another go?" Ellie asked Charlie as they walked into the airport. They were surrounded by all their fellow crash survivors, and everyone was preparing to board another Oceanic flight, this time a huge helicopter, that would privately take them to the island.

Charlie laughed. "It's not their fault. Something about a magnetic field?"

Ellie laughed, too. It was practically a running joke at this point, trying to figure out the strange ways of the island. All they knew now was that the Others were gone and they wanted to return.

"Dude," Jake said, walking over to them with Claire. They both were still single, but they were becoming close. The more time he spent with Claire, the more kind he became. "We should have a party."

Hurley walked up to them. He was wearing a nice outfit, not a suit but close. He loved being the center of attention, because he always used to feel like a boring person on the side. "Did someone say something about a party?" Hurley asked with an excited grin as he adjusted his tie.

"It's not a bad idea," Kate said from Sawyer's side. The two had been inseparable ever since her sentence was lifted. "That way our time on the island won't get off to a bad start."

"Okay," Ellie said with a nod. "We should."

"Awesome," Charlie agreed. "The band used to throw parties all the time."

"I brought a stereo and a ton of party mixes in some of the boxes," Hurley offered. "They're battery powered, since I knew we wouldn't have outlets any time soon."

"We're boarding," shouted Bernard from the front of them, where he and Rose were sharing a bonding moment. Ever since they had gotten back to the real world, a wave of heaviness had spread over her, and she knew her cancer had returned. She was putting all her hope in their return to the island. She didn't know what else could cure her.

Meanwhile, Sun and Jin were both pacing around the gate, waiting for everyone else to load and speaking a mile a minute in Korean.

"They want to have a party," Sun joked lightly, hoping to change the subject.

"What if this doesn't work?" Jin asked desperately in Korean, ignoring her statement. "The move. What if you don't become pregnant again?"

"Then we'll try again," Sun said, praying that the island wouldn't take it back.

Finally the line moved up and they stepped on. It was a normal (albeit huge and luxurious) helicopter, but on courtesy of Oceanic, it was reserved only for the passengers. They laid all their things in multiple seats and moved back and forth, trying to decide where to sit.

Finally they decided. In one clump of the helicopter, Ellie and Charlie sat next to each other. Allison sat behind them, and a distracted Hurley sat uncomfortably next to her. They were discussing legal fees, but he felt a little embarrassed, remembering that the last time he was here, he had two seats.

Across from Ellie and Charlie sat Claire and Jake, taking turns rocking Aaron. Behind them and across from Hurley and Allison sat Kate and Sawyer. They mostly just took turns talking and kissing, but sometimes Kate would lean over and join conversation with Ellie and Charlie. Ever since everything with Allison had happened, Kate had become more fond of Ellie.

Rose and Bernard started talking with Michael and Walt. Sun and Jin sat near them. Sun talked a little with Michael, and Jin tried to join in, since Michael was probably their closest family friend. Still, Jin was still nervous about the baby.

Locke spent the beginning of the flight in his seat, looking anxious and embarrassed, not being able to move around at all. But Sayid sat next to him, and they talked fairly easily. Locke was interested in Sayid's ex-army life, and Sayid was stunned when he found out Locke was an ex-box company worker.

In all, they were meshing together and becoming friends quickly, each eagerly awaiting their move to the island.

**The Beach**

"We're back," Kate breathed happily. She couldn't believe how much she had missed the familiar setting of sand and trees.

Sawyer noticed it, too, but said nothing. Instead he followed everyone to the beach, where construction workers were already setting up tents for them. Once the tents were up, they would start building houses all around the perimeter beaches of the island.

Hurley got out a large stereo from one of the boxes and set it on a fold-up table. "You guys ready?" he asked excitedly. Some people were just trying to enjoy the island again, but others were eager for a party.

They all cheered as Hurley popped in the first CD, but some of the cheers died down when they heard the music. It was a party mix Hurley had gotten from a DJ he knew, and it consisted of pop and rap. Most of the younger people clapped and sang along, but the older people looked bored.

"See, El, _this _is good music," Jake said with a grin.

Ellie faked puking as he turned around to talk to Claire. Charlie laughed from her side.

"Couldn't agree more," Charlie said. "Want to find a bigger, better stereo?"

Ellie grinned and nodded, and they ran off to look through all the boxes to find a good battery-powered stereo.

Claire had never been that into music one way or the other, but as Sun offered to take Aaron, she found herself dancing along with Jake. They were still just friends, and Claire didn't trust him with anything more, but she still found him to be good company, and he was getting better. They met up with Jenny and Andrew and they all became the stars of the dance floor—or rather, dance beach.

Back near all the boxes, Charlie and Ellie were sorting through them. Finally Ellie found a huge piano-sized box and opened it. It had a record player and a huge stereo.

"Brilliant," Charlie said excitedly, and he took it out. It was battery powered.

Ellie chuckled at his British phrase and leaned over to find one of her boxes. She had packed one huge suitcase and her guitar, but she also brought one securely taped box. In it was her huge CD collection.

"Here," she said, taking out a CD entitled 'Keeping Me Occupied Before the Apocalypse.' "It's bang-your-head, I promise."

Charlie nodded and put the CD into the stereo. _London Calling _by The Clash came bursting out of the speakers. Everyone listening to the party mix, which was currently playing an Eminem song, turned in surprise. A few of the older people seemed glad to hear music they had heard before, but everyone else "boo"-ed at the unfamiliar music. Hurley turned up the stereo and changed the song to _Yeah _by Usher.

Charlie grinned and turned up the volume on theirs, changing the song to _Fat Bottomed Girls _by Queen. Locke, Michael, and Kate clapped appreciatively in recognition of the classic. Even Sawyer had to laugh.

"Boo"'s still erupted from the other side of the beach, though, and before they could be stopped, an even louder _Toxic _by Britney Spears came out, courtesy of Jenny's friend Natalie, who was apparently a diehard Britney fan and had taken over Hurley's place at the pop side of the music battle.

"Do something they'll really hate," Ellie encouraged Charlie, laughing. Even though she hated the music the others were playing and she knew they hated hers, they were all having fun, and that was obvious.

Charlie nodded and switched it to _Anarchy in the U.K. _by the Sex Pistols. Although Kate, Locke, Sawyer, and Michael had all heard the song, they weren't as excited by it—punk rock was a very unappreciated thing. Everyone in the other clump of people winced and shouted, but Ellie and Charlie were cracking up and high-fiving each other.

Britney Spears had been their hardest one, so instead of playing something else, Natalie shouted, "TRUCE!" over to Charlie and Ellie.

Ellie shrugged. "Your call," she said to Charlie.

"We _could _play Ramones," he said, "and they'd probably scoff some more. Or we could just play Driveshaft as a truce."

"Why don't you guys just play?" Kate suggested. "It'll be like live Driveshaft, only with better guitars."

Ellie beamed at the compliment. "But we don't have drums," she said.

Kate shrugged. "They'll survive," she assured her.

Finally Ellie and Charlie set up their instruments. Everyone from both sides nodded in agreement, deciding that this was the best form of a truce.

The music battle pretty much ended there, and in its place was a series of mild songs that everyone agreed on from nineties-to-modern bands like Dishwalla played by the newly formed two-man band. Well, one-man, one-woman band.

Everyone started eating and drinking next, but they also helped the construction people, because they wanted the lost-on-an-island feeling to stay with them, not for construction workers to replace that feeling.

Kate and Sawyer ventured away from the crowd and off into the woods, where they cleared out an area and started a campfire with logs and a lighter. They spread out a blanket.

"I got all the memorial arrangements set up," Kate told him as they sat down together. She had been in this position a million times—in front of a fire next to Sawyer—but each time they seemed to be closer and know each other a thousand times better.

"Who's paying?" Sawyer asked with genuine interest.

"Hurley and Sun, mostly," she replied. "Allison and Jake agreed to donate some, and Jenny and Andrew said they'd donate their wedding fund for it. They want to get married here on the island."

Sawyer nodded. "That's good," he said honestly. He'd made enough jokes and sarcastic remarks lately. For once he just wanted to spend some time being normal, and Kate appreciated it.

"Hey," she said, turning around and looking up at him. "I know I've been moody and pretty depressing lately…"

He laughed slightly. "It's okay."

She smiled. "Thanks. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you…" She shrugged. "I love you, and even though losing Jack was and is hard, I know I made the right choice."

He couldn't say how glad he was. He had been ready to support whatever decisions and actions she made, because losing someone could be hard—he knew that better than anyone else. But the fact that she didn't regret being with him made him feel happy and confident.

He couldn't help but feel himself gazing into her soft green eyes for a second. But then he shook himself out of it—he had to have _some _tough-guy status left—and he leaned in for a kiss, a kiss that reassured Kate even further about her decisions. They kept at it and let things go their own way.

* * *

"I've developed strange flaps of skin that look slightly similar to blisters," Ellie informed Charlie with a grin, scanning the marks on her hands from playing. After almost an hour of playing and the crowd dancing and partying, they had agreed to stop.

"Didn't you bring any picks?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but I had to keep up the tradition," she explained with a grin.

He laughed and rolled his eyes, glad that her strangely abnormal side was still there. The good, weird parts were, but she'd stopped spiting people. It seemed like everyone had changed, but all for the better.

"Hey," Claire said, walking up to them with Aaron in her arms. She had reclaimed her baby from Sun after the dancing and music died down. Jake, as usual, was standing loyally at her side. She was too exhausted to confront him about it. Could he not take a hint, or was he really not interested in romance any more?

Whatever his reasons, she asked Ellie and Charlie her original question. "Have any of you seen Kate? She was going to help me put some of Aaron's things into our tent."

Charlie shook his head. "No. She went into the jungle a little while ago. Haven't seen her since."

Ellie chuckled slightly. "Sawyer was with her."

Jake caught on and laughed with them. "Sorry, Claire. Looks like Kate won't be back tonight."

Claire laughed and sat down next to Ellie and Charlie. "Then do you mind if I sit down here?" she asked, even though she already had. "Sorry, I couldn't afford backstage passes."

"It's kind of pathetic that this is all we'll be doing on the island," Ellie mused as Jake sat down next to Claire. "I mean, me and Charlie. Playing our guitars."

"Yeah, has anyone worked out anything?" Charlie asked. "I mean, like, do we get any money?"

Jake shrugged. "I don't have a clue," he replied. "I don't even know what I'm going to be doing. I'm just sick of college football."

"Please." Ellie snorted. "Your coach replaced you on the team, and you didn't have anything else to do."

Her comment stung a little, but it was the truth, and Jake knew he deserved it. He was willing to put up with anything from her.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Charlie absentmindedly strummed a few notes on his guitar. Ellie examined her sort-of blisters, and Claire fiddled with Aaron's blanket. Jake looked down in shame.

"Look, you guys, I have to talk to you," he finally said. He stood up, probably to make his talk seem more important.

Claire looked up expectantly, but Ellie and Charlie seemed more reluctant. They were used to having him around at this point, but after he was a complete idiot to Ellie and tried to beat up Charlie, neither of them liked it much.

"I know I've done a lot of stupid things. Okay? I used to be an idiot. Sometimes I still am."

Claire looked at him almost sympathetically and started to object. "You're not—"

"Let the man talk," Ellie interrupted with a grin, obviously enjoying this. Charlie couldn't help but smirk at hearing it, either.

"I know I treated you like dirt, Ellie, and I don't ever expect you to forgive me. But I'm trying to get better, and if you want me to, you can stop…" He looked at a loss for words.

"Bringing you down?" she finished for him. She smiled, a touch of sympathy tickling at her mouth, too. "Okay, fine. But I'm allowed to feel how I want." She considered her other options. "Oh yeah, and I can talk about you behind your back."

He laughed. He knew it was only a joke, and that she wouldn't do it. Much. "Deal," he said with a nod of approval.

"Don't I get a speech?" Charlie asked hopefully.

Jake laughed. "Sorry I hit you, but I was kinda upset."

"Hers was better," he mumbled, but he accepted it.

"Okay, and… Claire," Jake finally said, turning to look into her cloudy blue eyes. "I shouldn't have pulled you into my insane, stupid ways of life."

Claire blinked at him. She didn't bother to object; he was right.

"But I did, and I'm really sorry. The truth is, I really care about you, and I think you bring out the good in me, which is why I follow you around like a puppy." They all got a kick out of that. "But I'm done expecting things. Maybe some day I'll find someone who's right for me—though being on the island kind of narrows down my options—but I know it won't be you, and I don't expect anything except for you to let me continue to follow you around like a puppy, because I think that's the only way I can stay good."

Claire laughed. "Can I get you a collar?" she joked. It was her own way of accepting his twisted apology.

"We," Ellie announced, "are a bunch of sad, strange, random little people."

"Hey, I am a person of high morals," Charlie said. "I'm not sad. I take offense from that."

"Well, strange and random," she corrected herself.

"You're telling me." Jake laughed. "We get stranded on an island, and when we get back, what do we decide to do? Go back."

He was right; it was a very strange and random decision, coming back to the island. At least, that was what it would seem like. But they all had good reasons behind the decision, the most important one being that they wanted to stay together. And even though they separated a lot—the four of them, Kate and Sawyer, Michael and Walt, and Sun and Jin—there were things that were keeping them together. The strongest glue, the thing their minds always wove back to, were the deaths they had all faced. Libby, Ana Lucia, Jack, Boone, Shannon, and the others all brought the rest of them together, and that was how they would spend the rest of their lives: on the island, together.

"You know," Ellie said with a shudder, "we're kind of like the Others."

Claire's eyes shot up. "_What_?"

"I'm with Claire on this one," Charlie agreed.

Jake shrugged. "Ellie has a point. We came back to the island to get away from the real world… we'd probably be mad if another plane crashed, because that would really be an invasion of our privacy…"

"Okay, we _are _like the Others," Charlie admitted. "But there's one difference."

"_Please _don't say 'we're the good guys,'" Claire begged. "They said that, too."

"Nope," Charlie said. "We're the cool guys."

And that, they all decided, was that.

**END OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**_(and almost end of Fate—keep looking for update on Epilogue)_**

Sorry this one wasn't as long, but not as much needed to be said, and I had a vacation to return from and another one to pack for. I'm leaving for Florida soon, but I'll have the epilogue up by… eh. Hopefully, if I write fast, by next Thursday. It's the best I can do.

Anyway, I know this chapter was drippy—WAY too drippy for my liking, especially since I've been reading some funny stories—but it _was _the last chapter of a drama. Save for the epilogue, which I hope everyone reads!

Speaking of everyone… here are my lovely reviewers' responses:

**astronomylover: **I wasn't sure if the mayor thing was a good or stupid idea, so I'm glad you like it. That'll happen in the epilogue. I didn't mention Sun's baby in this chapter either, since I doubt there was a doctor on the island (well, a doctor with the necessary machines) but you'll see all about it next chapter. Thanks so much! I'll miss your reviews when this is over!

**xlostangelx: **I forgive you for not reviewing (just kidding—nothing to forgive). Here's your dedication chapter, and I wrote up there that people should read your stories. You really do deserve more reviews—they're really good. But I can't explain people. When I read a story I like, I review. Some people are butts and decide not to. Eh. Anyway, thanks, as usual!

**CharliesHoodie: **Just a short hiatus! Real writers' hiatuses (hiatusi?) are much longer. Anyway, I'm going to miss your reviews, too… I'm still waiting for inspiration for a good idea. I thought about a parody for the first season just having different things happen, like different people going on the hike and someone else sewing up Jack, et cetera… but I might not use it. We'll see. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**CowboyswithDimples: **It's okay—reviewing can be tiring. I'm just glad you've been reading and enjoying. I decided to use your party idea (and I twisted it around a little and added the music battle), so thanks a lot for that. I gave you credit in the disclaimer, too. Your review was really encouraging, I'm glad you decided to leave me one. :P

There you go—your VERY long review responses. Thanks to everyone, and anyone who's read my story, if you liked it, PLEASE leave a review next chapter. I'm going to ask a few questions to see what you thought about it at the end, so please leave a review & answer them. Anyway, I'll write as fast as possible, but like I said, I'll be in Florida… so… yeah.

KISSBANGX3


	17. Epilogue

Here's the last chapter! Sorry I took so long, but I hope you like! Before I start, I just want to say I'm so thankful to EVERYONE who has taken the time to review my stories. Reviews mean a lot to me, and I didn't expect this much feedback. I'd just like to as that anyone who's read this story (and liked it at least a little) review this one chapter, because I want to get feedback at the end for my questions. You'll see. Okay, here you are.

Dedication: To EVERYONE! I love everyone. As pathetic as people treat our beautiful earth (sorry, I tend to be an environmentalist/vegetarian freak sometimes), we're still awesome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost, wedding services, or any of the down-the-aisle tunes.

Chapter Seventeen: Epilogue

**Kate & Sawyer's House  
**_**Three Years Later**_

"Mornin', Freckles," Sawyer greeted Kate as she stepped into their kitchen. Despite the three years of living on the island, he had never ceased to use nicknames.

"Hey," Kate greeted, stepping on her toes and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Their house, which had been built by construction workers and repaired by Michael over the years, was only one story but still pretty nice—at least a several-hundred-thousand-dollar beach house. Not that they would ever sell it.

"Hurley's running out of money," Kate chuckled as she bit into a blueberry muffin while reading some memos. "He says we should start using our own money to buy our things now."

Sawyer chuckled. "After three years of you bein' mayor, you'd think he'd catch on that he's our life support."

"It's not like I get paid," Kate agreed, sitting down next to him. They'd lived together in this house since it was built almost three years before, but their affection for each other hadn't faltered.

"So is he paying for the wedding?" Sawyer asked, glancing up at her.

Kate laughed. "_You _have money," she reminded him. "And so do Ellie and Charlie—everyone always tips them a ton at their concerts."

They had been planning a double wedding for months with Ellie and Charlie. Charlie had been talking about proposing to Ellie for weeks, but he didn't want to scare her, because he knew she'd be cautious about her future. But apparently she wasn't, because she had very bravely proposed to him. That was almost a year ago, after they had been dating for two years.

Then, about six months after that, Sawyer had proposed to Kate—surprisingly romantically, for Sawyer. Kate hadn't hesitated in saying yes, but afterwards she'd had many second thoughts. Still, at this point, she was certain she'd made the right choice.

"I'm runnin' outta stuff to sell, though," he told her with a shake of his head. "Businessmen have products they receive, and I just sold out my original stock."

She shrugged and flipped through the stack of letters to the mayor. "Ellie told me she asked Claire if Aaron could be the flower girl," she read through chuckles.

Sawyer laughed. "Don't know if I feel good or bad for the kid. So spoiled, but so embarrassed."

"I'm good with it if you are, though," Kate said. "He'd be so cute, dropping flower petals down the aisle."

He shrugged. "Works for me. Who's gonna be your maid of honor?"

Kate frowned in consideration. "I guess Sun," she said after a moment.

"What about Jack?" Sawyer asked, referring to Sun and Jin's new son. His real name was a Korean name, the word for _island, _but they had given him the middle name of Jack in honor of the doctor, and Sawyer and most of the others called him Jack for lack of knowledge of the Korean name's pronunciation.

"Jin can hold him," she said with a shrug. "Sun and I were friends when we first crashed. I even helped her find her wedding ring. I'm sure she would."

"Who's gonna walk you down the aisle?" Sawyer asked. "I mean, not to depress you, but neither you or Ellie have dads."

She frowned. "Well, my sort-of dad is alive."

He nodded. "Right. The guy you thought was your actual dad but it turned out to be a lie."

She grinned. "Yeah, him. But I'd feel bad—Ellie wouldn't have anyone to walk her down the aisle." She frowned. "I guess I'll go talk to her about it," she finally said.

**Ellie and Charlie's House**

"I spilled orange juice into my guitar," Ellie groaned.

Charlie laughed. "How does something like that happen?" He had bad memories with the term, but he loved being able to use it and not worry.

"When you're drinking and tuning," she explained. "Bad idea."

He laughed as he reached for a glass of orange juice. They hadn't been living together for too long, as opposed to Kate and Sawyer, who had moved in together right away. But ever since Ellie proposed, they had lived together, and it was a nice arrangement. He never got tired of her random, strange comments, and she never got sick of his annoyingly cute jokes.

As they were talking about what songs they would play that day, the doorbell rang.

"Too early," Ellie grumbled. "And we still don't have a Starbucks here."

"Your turn," he pressured. "I got up early yesterday."

"But…" Ellie pouted.

"I'm wearing bloody pajamas," he reminded her.

"But they're cool!" she objected, referring to his plaid pajama pants. "That guy from _Rent _wore them in the Fox show. I saw it with Allison before I left."

The doorbell rang again.

"Fine," Ellie sighed. Normally she'd change, because she was still in her Kurt Cobain boxers, but at this point she didn't bother. Everyone on the island had seen her in boxers at some point.

She opened the door to find Kate. "Oh, hey," she greeted easily. She and Kate had become even closer over time. Claire and Jake lived next door to her, and they were closer, but Kate was the one having the double wedding with her.

"You busy?" Kate asked.

Ellie shook her head. "Never," she said honestly. "There's not much to do on an island with twenty or so inhabitants."

Kate chuckled. "True," she admitted. "Okay, well, can you take a walk with me?"

"Sure," Ellie said with a nod. She turned back and yelled, "Charlie, I'm going on a walk with Kate! Don't die or anything until I get back!"

"I'll do my best," he shouted back.

Ellie grinned and closed the door.

* * *

"So," Kate said as they walked. "I just had some questions about our double wedding, whenever that'll be."

Ellie bit her lip. "I'm still looking forward to it and everything," she said, "but I'm really not the planning type. I think Rose has some experience, if…"

Kate shook her head. "Don't worry. It's nothing like that. We both agreed it'll be simple."

Ellie relaxed. "Okay, good. So what'd you want?"

"Well, I just wanted to know about maids of honor and things like that," Kate explained.

"Oh." Ellie considered. "I guess Claire would be my maid of honor, and I don't think I'd have any bridesmaids."

"And who'll walk you down the aisle? Give you away?" Kate asked in an uncomfortable voice.

Ellie shrugged, obviously not picking up on Kate's concern. "Allison would. She's always been like my parent." Traditionally a man gave the bride away, but Ellie didn't care. Girls were better than guys, anyway, in her eyes. Except Charlie, of course.

Kate relaxed. "Okay. Great. Well, my maid of honor would be Sun, and I won't have any bridesmaids, either. I guess my… er… well, there's this guy I can call, and he'll get a helicopter down here and give me away. And Sawyer said it'd be fun to have Aaron be the flower girl, like you said."

"I wish Jack could be in it," Ellie said thoughtfully, referring again to Sun and Jin's baby.

"He should be the ring bearer," Kate offered. "Jin can walk him down the aisle."

"Wasn't Jin going to be Sawyer's best man?" Ellie asked.

Kate sighed. "This wedding stuff is confusing."

Ellie laughed as they reached Claire and Jake's house, which was next door (but still a ways away) from Ellie and Charlie's house. "I'll go ask Claire. Do you think Jake will be in the ceremony?"

"What's left?" Kate asked thoughtfully. "Eko's the priest, and that's basically the only other thing."

"That's okay. He can just stand and watch Aaron after the flower thing," Ellie said with a grin.

Kate laughed as she knocked on Claire's door.

"Hey," Claire greeted. Behind her was Jake, rocking Aaron.

Claire and Jake were still just friends, and for the first year and a half or so, things had been the same: Jake trailed along after Claire, and Claire didn't really like it. But finally she realized he was the real thing, and she let him help in raising Aaron. About a month ago, she decided that he was such a good parent, she let him move in with her and help take care of Aaron. He was the perfect father, but there was nothing romantic between them. They stayed in separate rooms and mostly went their separate ways, except when they were taking care of Aaron.

"Hey," Ellie replied easily. "Want to be my maid of honor?"

A huge smile spread over Claire's sweet face. "I'd love to!" she said happily, hugging Ellie.

"Jake, Aaron's going to be our flower girl," Kate told him. "You can just watch him, okay?"

Jake nodded. "Sure," he said.

Ellie turned back to Kate. "So we're really doing this," she said with a sigh.

Kate smiled. "We are."

**Claire and Jake's House**

"Why do you think it is that I'm not in the ceremony?" Jake asked Claire thoughtfully as he helped her feed Aaron his lunch. Normally she'd be teaching Walt, but it was a Saturday, and they followed normal school schedules.

"What's a ceremony?" Aaron asked interestedly. He was pretty intelligent for his age—three, almost three and a half—and could speak in hardly understandable yet fluent sentences.

Claire smiled, ruffling his light hair. "It's where a bunch of people come and celebrate together."

"Cele…cele…" He tried to work out the word. "Celebrate what?"

"In this case, a wedding," Jake replied. He wasn't at all sick of Aaron, but ever since the child began talking, he felt like all his conversations with Claire were interrupted.

"Whose wedding?" Aaron pried.

_Why is it that kids ask so many questions? _Jake thought, but he knew that if he felt that out of the loop, he'd be asking them, too. "It's two couples' weddings," he explained. "Kate and Sawyer, and your godparents."

Normally Claire would have made Jake Aaron's godfather, but she wanted a backup married couple to be there, and if anything happened between Jake and her, she'd need backup godparents. So she gave those positions to Ellie and Charlie, and she let Jake help with the actual bringing up of Aaron.

"Ellie and Charlie?" Aaron asked excitedly, but he said it like _Ewwie and Charwey._

"Yep," Claire replied tiredly. "And you know Kate, right? She stops by a lot. She was just here."

"I know her," Aaron replied, "but I don't like Sawyer. He's mean. He wouldn't play with me."

Jake let out a laugh, but Claire gave him a look and he quieted.

"Okay," Claire said to Aaron, "do you want to go upstairs and play with your toys for a while?"

Aaron nodded, and she brought him upstairs to his playpen. When she came back, Jake was waiting.

"So?" he asked. "Am I really still that unlikable?"

She gave him a genuinely confused look. "What?"

"Because I'm not in the ceremony," he explained. "I mean, I'm friends with everyone now. I help everyone out. Even Ellie admitted she's my friend again. Which is weird, but, you know. Good."

Claire bit at the inside of her cheek. She didn't know how to explain it to him.

"C'mon," Jake said tiredly. "Is it really that big of a deal? I completely changed."

"But the memory will always be there," she reminded him. She, of all people, would know that. There had been many times she wanted to be with him again, but memories of the first few weeks always floated back: the lying, the cheating, the cruelty. He had been heartless then. She knew he had changed, but she still didn't want to chance it. If there was one thing she and Ellie had in common now, it was their caution with guys. Ellie had it easy with Charlie, but Claire had it really hard with Jake.

"So you're saying that even when I'm eighty and dying, people will still think of me of the kid who was a jerk for a week and then got better?"

"People still think of Charlie as the heroin addict and the babynapper," she reminded him. Actually, people had pretty much gotten over that at this point, but she wanted him to think fair was fair. "And people still think Ellie's kind of a freak." _That _one was true.

"But there's a difference, 'cause she _is_," he reminded Claire.

She stiffened immediately, her brain going on red alert.

"Calm down," he said. "I mean, admit it, she's weird. That's all I meant."

Claire had to admit that was true, and she knew he still liked Ellie, despite her strangeness. Even though she'd gotten over her depression and ways of spite, Ellie was still strangely different from everyone else. Still, Claire and Charlie thought it was in a good way, and they knew that Jake didn't mind much.

"Okay," she said, and she felt her head-sirens turning off. Still, the jolt had been just another warning that he hadn't completely changed.

"All I'm saying is, you gave Charlie a million second chances," Jake said quietly. "And I'm not trying to compare or anything, but I wish you'd just give me one more. Because I _have _changed, a lot, and we both know it."

She knew he was right.

**The Beach**

"Hey," Claire greeted Ellie, running over to her. Jake was taking care of Aaron, so she was free for a while.

"Hola," Ellie replied. She was sitting on a towel, rubbing SPF 45 all over her arms and legs, wearing a surprisingly flattering two-piece bathing suit.

"Wow," Claire said. "I haven't seen you wearing anything figure-flattering since Hurley's second party."

Ellie laughed. A few weeks in, Hurley had had another party, this time with a DJ whose volume beat Ellie and Charlie's radio. Ellie and Claire had agreed to dress up for the occasion, and even Ellie had danced, even though she didn't the music.

"It's kind of like my own personal bachelorette party," Ellie explained. "I figured I could stand wearing a bikini for the occasion."

"But you're not swimming," Claire reminded her. "You should swim. I'll round some people up to join us, if you want."

"I was _going _to work on my tan for the big day," Ellie said in a fake-girly voice, "but if you _must…_"

"You can't tan with SPF 45 on," Claire sighed, laughing. Sometimes she wondered if Ellie was clueless or trying to be funny.

"Well, I can't be _burnt _for my big day, either," Ellie explained, a grin spreading across her face.

Claire rolled her eyes and changed the subject. "Is your semi-bachelorette party strictly for girls, or can I invite Charlie so he can see you in your new flattering wear?"

Ellie shook her head quickly. "Don't."

Claire shrugged. "Why?"

Ellie tugged on her long red hair, trying to think up a verbal explanation. "I don't know. I just don't like wearing two-pieces or skimpy outfits in front of guys, because it makes me feel like I'm giving in to…" She trailed off. "Sorry. I can be a feminist sometimes, and I'm not ashamed of it or anything, but I know it probably bores you."

Claire shook her head. "Not at all. When Thomas broke up with me, I had to deal with peoples' assumptions about my being a single mother, so I became a feminist, mostly as an excuse. But I started getting into it. I don't mind at all. What were you going to say?"

Ellie grinned. "It makes me feel like I'm giving into the sexist pleasures and guidelines that men laid out for us!" she shouted with a grin, raising a fist to the air. "We can't give in to the man!"

The other few people on the beach including Sun and Jin looked at her in an amused way—they were used to it at this point.

"Okay," Claire said, laughing, "works for me. I'll go get some girls—only girls—and a suit. I bet Kate will be glad about the semi-bachelorette party, too."

She came back about ten minutes later with Sun, Kate, Jenny (who was two months pregnant), and Allison. "This is everyone. Well, except Rose. She said to give her greetings, but she didn't feel like swimming."

Jenny was slightly uptight the whole time, because being the doctor also brought a lot of stress to her, just as it had to Jack—but at least she had Kate to split the pressure. Kate was able to have fun with them, but a few people shouted questions and requests for her while they swam. Sun had become a kind of social worker on the island, solving problems and tending to be somewhat like a psychiatrist. But no brawls or manic depressions had started, so she was set. Allison was handling a file to bring a few electricians to the island to fix the outlets and electrical wires, but it was a weekend, so it didn't have to be done right away.

Claire was off, and Ellie and Charlie were holding a show that night, but not yet.

They played childish games like Marco Polo and Sharks and Minnows, and finally they gave up and started splashing each other instead. When the news reached Sawyer and Charlie, they even made their own bachelors' party in which they went into the hatch, blasted the AC, drank some beer, and played poker for tokens. Sawyer complained about their needing real money, but not many of them had any, so tokens it was. Still, everyone on the island was having fun, and the warm feeling of a celebration coming up was spreading over them.

**The Double Wedding, On the Beach  
**_**Three Weeks Later**_

"So that's your sort-of father-in-law," Charlie whispered to Sawyer as the music began. It wasn't _Here Comes the Bride, _because Ellie and Kate had agreed that they didn't want their island wedding to have anything cliché about it. Well, a lot of it was cliché, but they didn't want that part to be. So instead Ellie had suggested playing _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. _The guys weren't as thrilled, but Kate and Ellie loved it.

"Shut up," Sawyer muttered, but he was too happy to sound mean or tough. Kate had stuck to a regular wedding dress, but it was still gorgeous—a beady white strapless floor-length satin dress, not puffy or tight around her legs, with a simple set of pearls. Her long brown hair fell down in her normal curls, but they were clean and healthy, not dirty and greasy like normal.

Ellie had gone slightly funky, as was her custom. She too was wearing a white dress. It was a thin-strapped tank dress with a square neckline, but a thin material that only ran to her knees. Around her waist, without belt loops, sat a black-and-silver spiked belt and a spiked necklace to match. Her hair was also healthy, still straight and down but blown dry, so it had more substance to it than usual.

Finally, once Aaron was finished dropping flower petals in the aisle and receiving laughs and cheers, Kate began walking and reached Eko (who was still a priest, working at the church, but also splitting the time with being the island's licensed police officer), who was waiting at the head of the gathering. She stopped and faced Sawyer, both of them beaming. Kate was surprised to see Sawyer in a normal suit, traditional but suiting him perfectly. He wore a plain sky blue tie, but it brought out his cloudy eyes even more.

"Thanks, Daddy," Kate whispered to her almost-father, reluctantly tearing her gaze from her future husband, as he left her side. He smiled back at her. Sun squeezed Kate's hand supportively for a second from beside her.

"I'm sorry Dad isn't here today," Allison whispered to Ellie as she took her arm and they slowly walked down the aisle. Ellie and Kate had agreed that Kate should go first because people were eager to see Kate's dad, who had sort of come out of nowhere to them.

"You know what?" Ellie asked. "I think he is, in a way." She knew it was a line straight out of a movie, but she knew how the characters felt. Ellie wasn't religious and didn't much believe in heaven or angels, but she did feel like her parents were watching over her. "Mom, too."

Allison smiled. "We're all proud of you," she promised as they split apart. Ellie stood and faced Charlie, who looked cute and sweet in a normal Charlie way. He was wearing plain black dress pants with black-and-white Chuck Taylor high-tops, a black blazer with white graph paper lines on it, and a black shirt with a white tie.

_Did you brush your hair? _she mouthed to him in surprise. He grinned and nodded, then mouthed back, _Nice dress._

"We are gathered here today," Eko started, interrupting their moment. But Ellie interrupted him right back by sneezing. It really had been an accident, though, and she felt herself turning bright red. She was about to whisper to Claire that she might as well have burned from the sun, but then she remembered that this was her wedding and not high school, so she stopped mouthing and whispering.

Eko carried on, reading from a traditional book instead of a Bible, because none of them were religious. Charlie had been at one point, and he still helped out with the church sometimes, but he didn't want it to be a part of his wedding. Kate had always been ashamed to think about religion—killing a man tended to have that effect on people.

Thoughts swarmed through their minds, thoughts that weren't part of their wedding vows but that were just as good, maybe better.

Finally Eko finished and reached the vows. "Have you all written vows?"

Everyone nodded.

"James Ford"—Sawyer gave him a look (not a glare, but a look), and Eko corrected himself—"_Sawyer, _excuse me." Sawyer was done with his mission to find the real Sawyer, but he was used to the name, so he didn't mind it. "Please give Ms. Austen your vows."

Sawyer, surprisingly, didn't turn bright red or get tough. He wasn't about to go super romantic in front of everyone, but his vows weren't at all bad. "Freckles, I have to tell you, I fall for ladies easily." Everyone laughed. "But it almost never lasts, like it did with you. At first I thought you were like a lot of girls I knew, but the more I got to know you, the more different you became. Things were hard a lot, but once we got through them, life with you was the best thing I've ever experienced. And I can't wait to make it official."

Kate beamed. It wasn't perfect, but Kate had never liked or wanted perfection. It was true and it made her feel special, which was perfect enough for her.

"Ms. Austen, you may speak."

Kate fixed her eyes on his, smiling sadly and yet extremely happily. "Everything about my life has always been about choices, and things with you weren't any different. But I always used to make the wrong choice. I'd run or stop or break the rules." She grinned. "As fun as things are with you, I'm not breaking any rules." This earned a laugh, too, but it died down as she spoke again. "And I'm never going to run. I love you, and that choice will never change."

If she wasn't mistaken, Kate could've sworn she saw his eyes actually glazing over a little, looking almost watery. She was too happy to cry, though, even happy tears. Instead she inched closer to him, waiting for Eko's permission.

"Sawyer, do you take Kate to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

Sawyer snorted. "We ain't never gonna part. You think death's gonna stop me?"

Kate flushed with pleasure, but the audience looked confused, so she elbowed him lightly. Sawyer laughed and said, "I do."

Eko nodded. "And Kate, do you take Sawyer to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

Kate smiled. "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by my native country of Nigeria, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Sawyer, you can kiss the bride."

_Finally, _they both thought as they pulled into a long, happy embrace. The audience whooped and cheered as Kate and Sawyer held it. Finally they parted, but it was definitely not a marital part. Just a part for air.

"We're such chop liver," Ellie muttered with a shake of her head to Charlie.

"You're only halfway done!" Claire shouted to the audience. Everyone laughed and sat back down on their beach chairs.

"Charlie," Eko said fondly to his church-building partner, "you may say your vows."

Kate leaned her head happily on Sawyer's shoulder as they watched Charlie.

He looked nervous, fiddling with an undone paper clip (Claire had given him the advice from _Maid in Manhattan_), but he kept his eyes on Ellie's, because he wanted her to know he was serious about everything. He wasn't sure if he could match the deepness and romance of Kate and Sawyer's vows, but he'd do his best.

"Ellie, I've met a lot of girls, and for a long time, I thought I knew them. Well, I don't think anyone knows girls completely, but I had a fair handle on their general gender." Ellie laughed. "But then I met you, and I had no idea what you meant or how you functioned, but you were amazing, and you were a brilliant change. Every second with has been a new adventure, and I never get sick of your quirky and funky personality. I haven't looked forward to anything more than I am to being with you."

Ellie wasn't a crier—she couldn't remember the last time she had cried. It wasn't a tough-girl kind of thing at all, but more of an outer-shell thing. She liked people to get used to her 'quirky and funky personality,' and she didn't mind if they found out about her parents. But she didn't like sharing her inner shell with people, which was why ever since her parents had died, she didn't cry at all. She didn't want people to know her emotions, because the thought scared her, and she didn't want to know what they would say or how they would act.

But now she knew it was okay to cry, because people would be happy for her. And she was with Charlie, and she didn't care if he knew about her inner shell, because that was the way she felt around him.

"Until you, I was a twisted and screwed up person," she said, not waiting for Eko's permission. Still, he nodded and listened. "I don't know why I did it, but I couldn't do what people wanted me to do, even if it was what _I _wanted to do. But you're as persistent as you are cute, and eventually you broke through that part of me. Ever since then, I've finally been able to be happy. I owe it all to you, and I know that as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy. And I'll be in love." And with that, she blinked and let the tears fall.

Charlie still wasn't sure if it was real. He'd never been that person to anyone, and hearing those things made him wonder if she had changed him the same way he had changed her. Whatever the reason, it made him long that much more to be with her.

"Nice," Claire whispered in appreciation of Ellie's vows as Eko said, "Thank you. Charlie, do you take Ellie to be your lawfully wedded wife—"

"—to love and cherish, in sickness and health, 'til death to I part?" Charlie finished for him. He was eager, and he had memorized it. Ellie grinned, proud and happy, as he continued, "I bloody well do."

Ellie felt her heart skyrocket all over her chest, and she felt dizzy with fondness and love as Eko prompted her. Once he finished with ''til death to you part,' she spoke. "As a trend," she said, glancing at Charlie to continue.

"As a friend," he said, assuming she was referring to the Nirvana song.

"And as an old memory, I do."

Charlie grinned. "Nice," he said for Claire. Quoting a grunge rock band on their wedding day wasn't something most people would do, but it suited them perfectly.

"By the power vested in me," he said again, "by the country of Nigeria, I now pronounce you m—"

"_Husband,_" Ellie coughed. She didn't like 'man and wife,' because she found it sexist. And Claire had definitely spurted her feminist act.

"—husband," he finished with a slight laugh that was rare on him, "and wife." He paused, knowing what Ellie was going to say next. Giving the man permission to kiss the woman also was sexist in her eyes. Slightly. "Husband and wife, you may kiss," he said instead. The crowd laughed, but the laughing stopped and the cheers replaced it as Charlie and Ellie joined each other for a kiss. He enjoyed actually being able to run his fingers through her hair, since it wasn't so tangled, and her hands were fingering his tie—she had an addiction to ties.

Sawyer coughed not-so-discreetly after several moments, and finally they parted.

"Well, we had to beat you two," Ellie told him happily over the applause. "You had the first-run advantage."

"The reception is at the memorial," Kate shouted to the crowd. They all slowly got up and filed out as the newlyweds chatted happily.

* * *

"Do you think they're here somewhere?" Kate asked Sawyer absently. She hadn't mentioned Jack at the ceremony, because she knew Sawyer had heard enough about it, but she knew it was perfectly appropriate to mention him as they were staring at the memorial.

It was gorgeous, the memorial—a tall granite figure of a plane. _Flight 815, _it read across the top, _The Plane of Fate. _Below the plane was a block that held it, the same substance. Engraved onto one side of the block said, _In Loving Memory, _and listed the lost ones of the island.

"They're here," Sawyer said simply. He truly believed it.

Sayid was near them, his eyes and heart heavy. He hadn't spoken with that clump of people much even in the three years—sometimes he felt like he didn't talk to anyone. But he still enjoyed Hurley's company, and he found Locke an intelligent conversationalist. But he didn't feel like he knew Kate as well any more, and he and Sawyer had never gotten along. So he stayed to himself, his eyes focused on the memorial.

His memories floated back to Shannon and Boone. He really hadn't hated Boone, or even disliked him. He had considered everything Boone told him, and he had felt guilty about engaging in a relationship with Shannon when Boone was on the side. But when Boone died, guilty as he felt, he had had more and more time to fall in love with Shannon. And when she died…

He shook his head. All his old memories were a part of that memorial now, and perhaps their graves, but nothing more. He respected them and hoped they were happy, but he knew he had to start a new life. He started a fairly entertaining game of badminton with Hurley and Locke, watching in amusement as Hurley took more interest in the items than the sport.

Back with Kate and Sawyer, Charlie spoke, replying to Sawyer's statement. "Yep," he said, nodding. "Ooh-ing and aww-ing at our marriage, boo-ing at our music." Ellie and he shared a laugh, but they stopped shortly as they saw Kate's expression. Sawyer, too, seemed caught up in the memorial, and as she turned to look at it, Ellie also felt a tug at her throat, as if liquid was rising through it into her eyes. In a rush, she almost couldn't see. Because written below the listed names said, _Also in memory of all we have lost. _Ellie knew that Kate felt the way about Jack that she did about her parents.

"Don't let us bring you down," Charlie said softly to the sky, but everyone sensed a heaviness in his voice, too.

"It's hard to move on, isn't it?" Claire asked from beside Ellie. Jake was beside her.

"It is when you think about things like that," Jake admitted, "but there's always hope for the future. Aaron. Us." He said it so softly that Claire hardly noticed it, but she decided in that second to give him a chance. It was like giving hope a chance. She wasn't sure if anything would happen, but she owed it to him and to herself to try.

"We'll move on," Kate said to the air. It would seem dramatic, but there was still a simplicity to it, as if she was sure that he was listening, and she was just delivering the message. "But we'll never forget you."

And they wouldn't. Written below _The Plane of Fate, _in small letters that no one noticed, was something new. Something more substantial and something that made them all smile slightly.

_Flight 815, _it read. _The Plane of Hope._

**END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**_END OF FATE_**

Cheesy? Not too cheesy? I added some Sayid, since I know I rudely and cruelly basically forgot about him this whole time. Did you like? Please review and let me know. Here are my review responses, but then read below that for the list I want you (if you would) to answer.

**CowboyswithDimples: **I'm glad I helped make your day. :P Thanks for all the praise. I would've used the morning after thing, but it kind of skipped to 3 years later, so that would've been a _little _tricky. Heh, but anyway, thanks a ton for your reviews, they made my day, too! Er, days. Whichever. Anyway, please answer the questions at the bottom, and then… bye? Yeah. Thanks!

**astronomylover: **Like I said (well, did I? I can't remember), I might right a non-funny parody, so if I ever do, I'd be happy if you read it. Yeah, it would be fun to live on the island… minus the bugs and bad guys, definitely NOT minus the island guys (you know, Charlie, Sawyer, Sayid… I don't like Jack much, but I know you do, so Jack, too). Anyway, thanks SOO much for all your loyal reviews that make me happy, happy, happy. It would make me happy-er if you'd answer the questions at the bottom? (wiggles eyebrows) Thanks!

**CharliesHoodie: **I hear they take a lot of your time up (parodies) since you have to kind of watch the show, pause, and write if you want to get everything, but I might just do it… not anytime too soon, though. Anyway, your reviews were probably the funniest reviews I've ever gotten, and also very encouraging. I'll miss them and you! Please answer the questions at the bottom for feedback… and thanks!

**samdean4567: **I'm glad you liked the music battle—some people aren't that into music, and for them it would've been kind of a waste of words, but my readers didn't seem to mind. Anyway, thanks so much for all your reviews for this story, and if you have time, please answer the questions at the bottom. Thanks so much, and… eh, have a great summer?

**Zephdae: **You're cool. Usually when I review someone's story they don't do anything, but you actually looked at mine! (happy, happy, happy) Anyway, I agree with you about that chapter—people would've solved a LOT more stuff on the island if they actually talked, and sorry it was OOC, but I'm glad you liked it that way. I know the Jack thing was OOC, but at the time I'd only seen the first season and a few random parts of the 2nd season (now I've seen everything), and I didn't notice how bloody annoying he is about giving into the island mysticism, as you put it (awesome term, by the way). Sorry it didn't have more Sayid, but I added some at the end, thinking of you. :P When you're finished, if you answered the questions at the bottom, that would make me happy! Thanks!

Okay, list. **_PLEASE READ THIS AND ANSWER THE LIST QUESTIONS—THAT WOULD MAKE YOU AWESOME. AND I WOULD BE FOREVER IN YOUR DEBT. AT LEAST, I WOULD BE THANKFUL._** This shouldn't take long—I just want to know what you think, and hopefully I can help myself for any future stories I write, or at least know what was good and bad about it. So please cut/paste or whatever you want, and leave the answers in your review.

1. Who was your favorite OC?

2. Was Ellie overdone, at least in the beginning chapters?

3. Did you want Claire and Jake to end up together?

4. Did I focus too much on the OC's? Would you have preferred more on the flight 815ers?

5. Chapters… were they too long? Too short?

6. Any other feedback/suggestions for changes in this story?

7. Anything else you think. (optional)

Actually, it's all optional, because I can't really make you. But please answer them, even those of you who haven't reviewed yet, because I loooove feedback, in case you haven't noticed. I hope everyone liked it—it was just as long as the other chapters, so you shouldn't have been disappointed there! (Unless you were looking forward to a short one, that is.) Anyway, Writing and reading your AWESOME reviews has been great. (sniff) Thanks so much, everyone!

For the last time—KISSBANGX3


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